Cricket and football top weekend sports
Good evening I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. The Harrison Parks cricket competition has arrived at the semi-final round of the playoffs as four teams remain in the hunt for this year’s national title. At Burrell Boom on Saturday Berlan of Bermudian Landing and Excellence of Double Head Cabbage kicked off this three game series. Here’s a look.
It’s championship time in the Belize Rural and the fans are out in serious numbers to witness the clash between Berlan and Excellence. The start for Berlan is rather shaky with two wickets gone for a mere ten runs, until Colin Young steps up to bat and he gives his team definite momentum. Young continues to punish the Excellence bowlers as he strikes for a four right here.
Talk about consistency, Colin Young is all that today and he swings for another four. However, it’s not all Colin Young for Berlan, as his batting partner on this sequence lashes a six. Still, Young comes right back with a six of his own and now he has batted in all of seventy-seven runs.
So Excellence sends for the hurler, Ian Broaster, and this pitch to Young fools him completely for the biggest out of the day. And yes, the youth with the headband would smash down four wickets in this one, but Berlan had already struck for a whopping two hundred and fifty-eight runs.
Excellence in their turn at bat could not live up to their name, and even before a run is scored, the first batter gets thrown out on a miscommunication with his partner. However, they did have their hits as shown here, but fell woefully short, coming up with only one hundred and thirty-one runs for all out giving up game one to Berlan two hundred and fifty-eight to one hundred and thirty-one. Game two is set for this Saturday and Excellence must win this one to force a decisive game three.
In other semi-final match-up, Wicked Eleven prevailed over United in a one hundred and nine to one hundred and eight final score. The series continues on Saturday.
Changing gears folks, let’s catch up with the B.P.F.L.’s Prime Minister’s Cup Tournament, which moved into the second round over the weekend and here’s your first glimpse of Valley Pride as a semi-pro team inside the Isidoro Beaton Stadium in action against the San Pedro Seahawks.
Immediately, the islanders display their superiority and we’re only fifteen minutes in when Mark Leslie catches up with this corner kick with a header and San Pedro goes up 1-zip.
A few minutes later, the Seahawks launch a corner from the opposite side of the field, Orlando Pinelo gets a head on it and it’s now a 2-zip lead.
In the meantime, Mark Leslie sets table perfectly for Edon “Yellowman” Rawley, who makes maximum use of the gift to make it a 3-zip island lead.
Still, the scoring outburst was not over as this centre makes it to Landi Pinelo, he gets his second goal of the match and at the half the sore is 4-zip.
In second half, the massacre continues again. Again San Pedro strikes off the corner kick from “Yellowman”, the ball is kept alive to Mario Sihonga and he makes it a 5-zip lead.
For the young upstarts, Valley Pride, who vanquished Verdes in the first round, today’s match is a rude awakening, but they do get a consolation goal when Elroy Smith is taken down inside the eighteen. The referee rules penalty, Smith gets up off the ground and gets Valley Pride on to the scoreboard.
So San Pedro wins the away game 5-1 with game two in this home and away series set for Sunday out at the island.
In other match-up in the Prime Minister Cup, Saturday night Kulture Yabra got a goal from Emory Nunez to scorch Sagitun 1-zip at Independence. Sagitun comes to the M.C.C. Grounds this Sunday, so lookout for fire works.
That’s our show for now, we certainly invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all! I’m James Adderley.
