Ian Wason
Sport Correspondent
Scarlet Blazers were declared champions after rain interrupted and abandoned the final of the M.D. Pronto Under 17 Cup at the National Cricket Centre on Wednesday.
Soca Strikers, who lost to Blazers by just one wicket, came into the match hoping to reverse the tables in the final and decided to bat first.
They scored 243 in 48.1 overs, with Isa Ramkissoon getting to 44 and Jayden Sadaphal contributing 39. There were other contributions from Joshua Joseph (33) and Lucas O’rosco (33) that enabled the Strikers to post the competitive total.
Mickhel Sookdeo, Curtis Nanan and Abraham Joseph all took two wickets each.
The Strikers held a dominant position over the Blazers, who had entered the final with an unbeaten record, but they appeared to be on the verge of their first defeat of the tournament, standing at 50 for five in 11.1 overs when the rain began.
Veer Arjoon (16*), Mark Ramkissoon (15*) and Curtis Nanan (12) were the leading run-getters for Blazers.
Blazers won all their matches in the group stage, and on that account were declared champions of the tournament despite being 50 for five chasing 243. Tournament rules and playing conditions do not allow for Duckworth-Lewis to determine a winner of a rain-affected match.
Isa Ramkissoon, who took four of the five Blazers wickets after scoring 44 in the Soca Strikers’ innings, was named Man of the Match.
Mickhel Sookdeo was named Player of the Tournament. He made 107 runs with an average of 26.8 and took 12 wickets at an average of 6.8 runs per wicket.
