Metropolitan Cricket League
Villagers Easily Defeat Cosmos

July 6th, 2009
Metropolitan League First Division cricket this week pitted a star studded Cosmos team against a rebuilding Villagers team. Villagers won the toss and elected to bat first in near perfect weather conditions on a good strip. Cosmos opening bowlers Sham Ali and George Adams were spot-on from the first ball reducing Villagers to zero runs for one wicket after two overs. Newcomer Dwight Brown was caught and bowled by George Adams without scoring in Adams’s first over. Villagers soon found themselves in deeper trouble when veteran opening batsman Charles Walker was caught by wicket keeper Donald Bennett in the fifth over with the score on 19.

Buoyed by some adventurous batting by Glen Hall, Villagers staged a minor recovery before losing their third wicket with the score on 60 when Tailsman Gordon was well run out by a direct hit from Ronald Treasure; Gordon was adjudged short of his crease without scoring, trying for a sharp single to midwicket.

Captain Ordelmo Peters joined Glen Hall at the wicket and the pair proceeded to plunder the hapless Cosmos bowling attack putting on 179 runs in 24 overs before Glen Hall was well caught on the backward square leg boundary off Dennis Evans for a scintillating 135; decorated with 11 fours and 9 hefty sixes. Hall was particularly severe on George Adams taking 40 runs off 3 overs. By the time Ordelmo Peters departed for a well engineered 103 (3 fours and 9 sixes) caught at long on off Evans with the score at 263 for 5 Villagers had already demoralized an overrated Cosmos side.

Kevin Dalington was brought back into the attack and the last five Villager batsmen were bundled out for 27 runs. Villagers’ inning was closed at 290 all out in exactly 40 overs. Glen Hall 135 and Ordelmo Peters 103; Kevin Darlington was the pick of the Cosmos bowlers (8-1-37-4) supported by Dennis Evans (8-0-60-2).

Set a challenging 291 to win in 40 overs the mercenary filled Cosmos side never held the upper hand. Cosmos lost their first wicket in the second over with score at 10 when opener Dennis Evens was brilliantly caught by Tailsman Gordon miscuing a pull shot off the bowling of left hand seamer Dillon Bourne. The pair of Donald Bennett and K Lesporis put on 90 for the second wicket in 12 overs. Bourne was quickly replaced by Ewart Gayle this move did little to stem the run flow. Joel Persaud was introduced from the Belt Parkway end to replace Gordon; he struck gold in his third over deceiving Lesporis outside the off stump. Lesporis to this point had played freely and with ease to all the bowlers. He was caught at the wicket by Charles Walker for a very well executed 62 in 64 minutes with 6 fours and 3 sixes. With the departure of Lesporis villagers tightened their grip on the falling stars.

Joel Persaud bowled straight and tight (8-0-23-2) in tandem with young Maurice Powell (8-1-24-1) by the end of their respective spells Cosmos was deflated at 165 for 6 in 30 overs needing 126 runs to win in 10 overs with all recognized batsmen out except Melroy Kingston whose rearguard 35 in 62 minutes with 3 sixes was just a little too late.

In the end Cosmos tottered to 233 for 9 in their allotted 40 overs they were beaten this day by a roster not too attractive on paper but by a superior team on the field.