Falcons Edge Cavaliers in Haycraft T10
RTW Falcons held off a late charge from Cavaliers to win by eight runs in the BVI Cricket Association’s Peter Haycraft T10 Cup at Greenland. Cavaliers, winless in two starts, fell short at 123/5 chasing Falcons’ 131/6 despite a fighting 55 from Avishkar Sewkarran.
RTW Falcons held on for an eight-run victory over Cavaliers on Sunday at Greenland in the BVI Cricket Association’s Peter Haycraft Ten10 Cup, handing Cavaliers an unexpected 0-2 start to the competition. After losing the toss, Falcons put up 131 for 6 from their 10 overs. They recovered from an early two-wicket loss for 33 thanks to a third-wicket stand of 55 between Gary Prince and Austin McDowall.
Prince went for 49 when he was caught by Jagnarine “Suga” Persaud, while McDowall added 18. Curtly Peters finished 14 not out to help close the innings. Cavaliers bowlers Dhanpaul Chrisnanand (2 for 32) and Avishkar Sewkarran (2 for 27) provided tidy spells, but it was not enough to break the Falcons’ momentum.
Cavaliers’ chase began poorly when captain Gavin Hitnarine was run out without facing a ball, his second duck in as many games. Rather than folding, however, Cavaliers staged a recovery: Sewkarran combined with Trevis Dookharan in a 96-run partnership for the second wicket. Sewkarran was eventually stumped for 55 and Dookharan contributed 36 before being caught by Prince.
Chrisnanand supported with an unbeaten 15 as Cavaliers finished 123 for 5. Falcons captain Orlando “Facebook” Ollivierre hailed the win as a comeback after a heavy defeat in the opening round. "Last week we lost our first game and we were badly beaten, so we decided that we have to come out strong because Cavaliers is a good team and we wanted to put our best foot forward," Ollivierre said. "We took away their shots from them and put the ball in the right area.
This victory is a stepping stone towards the final and winning the tournament again. I will enjoy it." Cavaliers captain Gavin Hitnarine said the side must reassess their approach after two failed chases. "We have to work on our game plan and we have to play a comprehensive game—batting, bowling, fielding—but sending teams to bat was our strength in the past," he said. "Our record shows that we prefer chasing.
It just happened that the last two times it didn’t come off for us, but if we have to chase again, we will back ourselves to win." In the afternoon match Vikings beat Grenada by seven wickets. Spinner Johnny Bailey starred with 4 for 15 as Grenada were restricted to 107 for 9; Rakumar Seepersard’s unbeaten 40 led the Vikings to a comfortable 109 for 3 in 7.2 overs.
Report by Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway, originally published in The Island Sun.
Primary source: Island Sun