ST. MAARTEN—The intensity among the remaining four cricket teams in the Nagico One Day Tournament is at an all time high as they prepare for the semi-finals which begins today, and the championship match on Sunday carded at the Caribe Lumber Ballpark in St. Maarten.
St. Kitts take on host country St. Maarten on Saturday in what promises to be a high intensity match. Nevis, after being defeated by St. Kitts on Wednesday in a nail-biting encounter at the cricket grounds in Molineux, St. Kitts, will want to take out their vengeance on defending champions Antigua.
Antigua on the other hand is yet to lose a match and would not want to lose this one now. The back to back champs have proven themselves to be in great shape after beating the competent Anguilla in one of the first matches of the tournament by six wickets on Monday. They later blew away the hapless British Virgin Islands (BVI) by 10 wickets bowling them out for 58 runs. Then on Wednesday, Antigua passed the ultimate test in Zone B, convincingly defeating St. Maarten by 91 runs. Setting 201 seemed a low score and credit St. Maarten for restricting the defending champs so well, a feat the other teams in the zone were unable to do efficiently. However, it all came crashing down when Antigua’s formidable bowling attack dismantled St. Maarten’s batting line up and again assert their dominance in the tournament so far.
ST. KITTS VS. ANTIGUA?
What seemed to be a dream final for most Leeward Islands cricket fans may materialize if St. Kitts and Antigua can defeat their respective opponents in the semi-final match-ups. Both teams are so far undefeated and have a historic rivalry than spans a great deal of Leeward Islands cricket. St. Kitts’ coach Percy Daniel already has his eye set on Antigua and refers to their nemesis as the "ghost" that constantly haunts St. Kitts. He would relish getting them out early but knows there is no room for mistakes and will be working hard to prepare his team for a possible finals meet. Antigua on the other hand wants to continue their dominance in the tournament and will first need to dismiss Nevis to achieve this feat.
DON’T UNDESTIMATE NEVIS
However, cricket pundits will admit that Nevis is no walkover team and were on the brink of being undefeated thus far in the tournament. Coach Stuart Williams is no newcomer to cricket having years of experience playing regional cricket and is a coaching genius. Nevis got an easy walkover against USVI and played harder against Montserrat than St. Kitts did the day before. After restricting St. Kitts to just 173 for nine, victory was almost assured for Nevis but a miraculous comeback from St. Kitts, sparked by a hat-trick by off spinner Terrence Ward, led St. Kitts to an unexpected win. This defeat is a bitter taste in Nevis’ mouth and the first team it faces today will taste its wrath. Antigua could be in for a real showdown against Nevis and Stuart Williams may certainly assure that. Realistically, should Nevis win today, consider it not an upset; they do have what it takes to take down the defending champs.
ST. MAARTEN ON A ROLL
St. Maarten, with just about 10 years experience in cricket, may just be at its peak in the sport this year. With some internal restructuring of the St. Maarten Cricket Association (SMCA) and the return of former SMCA president Imran McSood in a supervisory role for St. Maarten’s cricket administration, St. Maarten may just have the anecdote for the island’s improved cricket performance. Besides that, St. Maarten over the years has been building its youth cricketers and some of the fruits of that will be on the center stage of this weekend’s semi-final against St. Kitts. Murlon Le Blanc and Romain Doodnauth are two household names that could wreak havoc in St. Kitts’ batting line up. On the batting end, there is the sparkling John Eugene, the first player to score a century in the tournament this year and the only one to score a century in the Stanford 20/20 cricket. He is certainly no walkover and should not be taken lightly. He is certainly a powerhouse and one St. Maarten will rely on come Saturday.
Whatever the results this weekend, cricket fans will be in for a treat as the Nagico One Day Cricket Tournament 2009 reaches its peak. Be prepared for a wonderful weekend of cricket and may the best team win.