Windward's Intermediate side snatched victory from Yorkshire Sports Club when they made an incredible come back, bowling out the Friendship side for 69 in their second innings, with Rashoun Archer leading the attack, taking 5 of the wickets for 17 runs from 19 overs with 9 Maidens, Amari Wiggins having 3 wickets for 7 runs in his 6 overs and Matthew Alleyne taking 1 wicket for 21 runs from 12 overs. The Sagicor supported side then went to work to make the 115 runs required in the time remaining. Opening the batting for the Lucas Street Lads were the pair of Kastun Stoute and Alan Branch, who had some difficulty with the bowling of Romario Parris, Branch retiring injured when he was struck on the back of his hand, resulting in a fracture, having 7 runs from 7 balls faced. Stoute was returned to the clubhouse shortly after, with just 8 runs to his credit. Latrell 'Buffy' Greenidge and Naje Bishop replaced Branch and Stoute respectively, with Bishop getting off the mark quickly with a single. Greenidge carefully selected his shots against the aggressive bowling, eventually being declared caught out after some deliberation by the umpires, having made a single run from the 12 balls faced and the scoreboard showing 32/2. Replacing Greenidge in the middle was vice captain, Shakeem Blades who along with Bishop, carried the score to 62/3 when Bishop was bowled having made 39 runs from 29 balls faced, with 2 fours and 3 sixes along the way. Jafari Toppin replaced Bishop, and hit 7 boundaries from the 36 balls faced, making 47 not out, with Blades having 11 not out on the day, and giving Windward the victory by 7 wickets, winning the division and earning a promotion to the First Division for the 2023 season. Club President, Richard Cox, praised the team, saying "Victory over Yorkshire in the Intermediate final must rate as one of the most significant achievements in the Club's history in that it now places us in the 1st division, a level we have never played at before. Members and supporters of the club are very proud of the teams performance throughout the season. Thanks to the coach, captain , players and other club officials who have all contributed to this success. We now need to use this as a platform to further improve our game as we compete at the higher level." Team Captain, Alan Branch echoed Cox's sentiments, saying "For me to just say the team and the club is deserving of this win and promotion is a huge understatement. We have worked quite hard to put our players in the right space, mentally and physically, to ensure that their performance levels are at optimum. Jafari (coach) has been excellent and our strategies for the squad has borne fruit. Planning was critical and allowing the guys to be confident of their individual talents and approaches to the matches, despite the detractors and negative comments, was crucial. I cannot mention names because EVERYONE played a part, EVERYONE!!”
Pictures from the match can be seen in the photo album on our website.
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