DISTRICT 8 Challengers maintain the upper hand in Group B of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) Schools Under-19 T20 X-Plosion, Wednesday.
The tournament is organized through the collaborative efforts of the Ministries of Youth Development and Sports and Education and the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association. Games are played at the Gros Islet playing field.
Challengers continued their unbeaten run winning their third consecutive match in the tournament by five wickets over District 5 Enforcers.
Enforcers, batting first, were dismissed for 61 in 12.4 overs with Stephen Abraham and Harvie Paul scoring 17 each.
Bowling for Challengers, leg spinner Cody Fontinelle bagged 4 for 4, Aiden Scholar 2 for 0, and one wicket each to Garet Alphonse, Jude Joseph, and Jaheem Simeon.
Chasing 62 for victory, Challengers were in a spot of bother, to be 40 / 4 after 5.2 overs. However, they were able to reach the required target comfortably, finishing on 62 / 5 in 8.4 overs with Aiden Scholar stroking 17runs.
Challengers’ task was made even easier as Enforcers conceded a whopping 20 extras.
Bowling for Enforcers, Theo Edward took 3 / 18, and Josan James 2 / 28.
Also on Wednesday, with District One Strikers badly in need of a win following their defeat in their opening encounter against Thrashers by six runs, kept their hopes alive by defeating Group A leaders District 4 Chargers by 17 runs.
Batting first, District One Strikers amassed 100/1 with Jewell Simon top scoring with 21. Other contributions came from Jaden Khodra 17*, Zhanni Joseph 16, Verquan Estaphane 14, and Amari Venner 10.
Bowling for Chargers, Cansius Simon took 3 / 18, Khan Elcock 2 / 7, and one wicket each to Jerlani Joseph and Bjorn Fanis.
Requiring 101 for victory, the District 4 Chargers innings ended on 83 for the loss of 9 wickets in 12.4 overs.
The main contributors with the bat were Tori Hippolyte 22, J’ Dell Louis 19, Bjorn Fanis 12, and Khan Elcock 10.
Bowling for Strikers, Zhanni Joseph took 4 for 12, Jaden Khodra 3 for 3, and one wicket each for Christian Peter and Kethan Charlemagne.
Meanwhile, the summarized scores of matches played on Tuesday were as follows:
Chargers led by Khan Elcock made light work of District II Warriors with skipper Ryan Goodman.
Chargers won comfortably by 62 runs to claim their second victory in Group A.
Chargers – 185/ 6 – K Elcock 73 (39) 6×4, 6×6, Hansie Mason 21, and J’Dell Louis 14*; Kaylan Neptune 2 / 38.
Warriors – 123 all out (18.1 overs), R Goodman 30, Khalil St. Hill 27; Armani Lesmond 2 / 1, Tori Hippolyte 2 / 5, Elcock 2 / 12.
On Monday, aggressive batting continued to dominate the competition, with a double-header at the Gros Islet Playing Field.
In Game 1, District III Thrashers defeated Strikers by six runs in a hard-fought game.
Thrashers – 139 / 8 in 19.4 overs – Leon Alexander 41, c Kensley Paul ( c) 31, Kahlil Whaul 25; Keithan Charlemagne 3 / 21, Amari Venner 2 /17, Jaden Khodra 2 / 26.
Strikers – 133 all out in 19.3 overs – Amari Venner (c) 64 12×4, Zhanni Joseph 17, and Neil Poyotte 12; Kensley Paul 4 / 25.
In the other game, a mid- afternoon rainstorm resulted in the abandonment of the match between District 7 Blasters and District V Enforcers, with just two balls bowled.