Match Report: 4th Match – La Soufriere Hikers vs Fort Charlotte Strikers
La Soufriere Hikers won the toss and chose to bowl first, under conditions that seemed to indicate that rain might not be to far away.
Othneil Lewis as usual, took the new ball and started well, only conceding two runs in the over. Kavem Hodge, specialist new ball spinner was up for the 2nd over. It was the most unusual of starts in this edition of the VPL as after 2 overs, the score was 3-0. Strikers could not find any momentum and could only add three runs in the 3rd over. The struggle continued during the 4th over as the Strikers just couldn’t find any momentum, the powerplay finishing on 18-0.
Jeremy Haywood’s introduction into the attack saw Walker being bowled immediately, bringing Roland Cato to the crease. Strikers after five overs could only reach 20-0. Dillon Douglas bowled the 6th over and had the wickets of Cato and new comer Alex Samuels.
There was no momentum at all throughout the innings and the Strikers could only get to 55/5,
Hikers in reply lost captain Maloney within the first over, trapped lbw to speedster Ray Jordan. Rasheed Fredericks bowled a good 2nd over, only conceding 5 runs, the score 7-1 from 2 overs. Sensing that the only way to win is to take wickets, Strikers continued with strike bowler Jordan who they would otherwise leave for one of the death overs. The over was tidy with the exception of extras – Strikers 15-1 from 3 overs. Rasheed Fredericks was brought back as well and added an eventful over as the were dilscoops and numerous shoots for lbw – the over only costing five runs taking the score to 20-1 from 4.
By now, the struggle was on for both batting sides as Nigel Small bowling the 5th over managed to keep things tight, only conceding three runs. Chelson Stowe bowled a steady sixth over, avoiding bowling boundary delivers, keeping the Hikers to 30-1. The biggest over of the innings came in the 7th over, going for 11 runs and also seeing the fall of Dillon Douglas with the score on 40-1. Sealroy Williams was the man to bowl the 8th over and did a brilliant job, bowling extremely tight and managing to frustrate Salvan Browne, who advanced off the last ball of the over and got bowled – a magic over conceding only two runs.
Stowe came back for the 9th over and bowled really well, only conceding seven runs. The final over, requiring 7 runs was going to be bowled by Sealroy Williams. Othneil Lewis hit the first delivery over mid wicket for six. and finished the game with a single on the 3rd ball of the over. A game that was set to be dull ended up being a bit of a 2020 year kinda thing!
Summary Scores:
Fort Charlotte Strikers 55/5 (10 overs)
La Soufriere Hikers 56/3 (9.3 overs)