Royal Knights, Vikings Vie for Top Seed
Unbeaten Royal Knights and Vikings kept perfect records in the Haycraft Peter Ten10 Cup after wins at Greenland on Sunday, setting up a high-stakes semifinal showdown for top seed. Julian Bannet hit his second century of the competition as the Vikings crushed Cavaliers, while Royal Knights edged Grenada in a rain-shortened contest.
Two unbeaten sides — Royal Knights and the Vikings — will square off for top seed in the BVI Cricket Association Peter Haycraft Ten10 Cup after convincing wins at Greenland on Sunday. Clair, posted 123 for 1 in a game reduced to eight overs and then held Grenada to 107 for 4 for a 16-run victory.
Opener Kazim Haywood made 58 not out off 23 balls, and Ameri Hinds supported with 45 not out off 23, setting a challenging target in the shortened match. "It was a well fought victory today. We played well and executed on our bowling as planned," St. Clair told Island Sun Sports. "We wanted to do better than in the last games we played where we gave away 130+ runs.
For this game we were coming to see if we could better that and we did." He added that bowling a tight line and length was the game plan to limit boundary opportunities after the late start forced the reduction to eight overs. Grenada’s chase was derailed early when Derrol Redhead was run out caught by Reno Mettleholzer for 27, ending a 36-run opening stand with captain Andel Walcott.
Walcott pushed on to 38 but lost partners at crucial times; Ragel Noel fell for 14 and Akim Mousey Hendrickson finished 17 not out as Grenada ran out of overs at 107. Walcott conceded his side fell short of the required rate after seeing 120 in eight overs as a steep target. Grenada will meet defending champions RTW Falcons at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday to decide fourth place and potential semifinal matchups.
In the second match, Vikings opener Julian Bannet produced a spectacular display, smashing 13 sixes and seven fours as he scored 115 off 32 balls before being run out. It was his second century in three games and propelled the Vikings to 161 for 3. Cavaliers collapsed to 96 for 9 while chasing, losing by 65 runs.
Jagnarine “Suga” Persaud was the main resistance with 32 during mid-order partnerships, but Cavaliers — now 0-4 in BVICA play — were undone by a balanced Vikings attack. Kelvin Lewis, Deco Khemraj, Jieunick Mingo and Collis Fraser each grabbed two wickets as the visitors were bowled out short of the target.
Sunday’s schedule places the semifinal clash between Royal Knights and Vikings at 12:30 p.m. at Greenland, a match many expect to be a prelude to the Cup final. For BVI fans, the encounter offers a chance to see local heavyweights and form players like Bannet and Haywood in top form ahead of the knockout rounds.
Primary source: Island Sun