Avatar Micoud Eagles earned a convincing victory over SRDF Soufriere Stumpers to secure the coveted KFCSPL T20 Championship title, in the finals, played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground [DSCG] last weekend.
Skipper Daren Sammy powered the Eagles to a seven-wicket win over their west coast opponents, with a superb all-round performance, reminiscent of some of his ‘glory days’ in regional and international cricket circles.
Taking first knock, Stumpers scored 147/7 (20.0 overs), with Julian Sylvester leading the charge among the top-order batters with 61(50) (4×4, 5×6.) The lower order batters Dalius Monrose with 18 (21) and Bronte Bess 12 (8) added to the score.
Sammy, the current head coach of the West Indies ‘white-ball’ format squads produced a blistering spell of seam bowling to bag 4/21 (4.0 overs). Three other bowlers; Shervon Leo, Sanjay Pamphille, and Tyler Sookwa claimed one wicket each.
In reply, Micoud Eagles romped home to finish at 148/3 (19.5 overs). Opening batter Mervin Wells 75 (49) (8×4, 4×6) was the aggressor at the top of the innings to lay the foundation for a relentless chase that eventually went down to the wire.
Sammy, the former West Indies captain, hit a cameo knock of 42 (42) (3×4, 1×6) to steer his team to victory.
Clem St Rose led the bowling attack for Soufriere claiming 3/26 (4.0 overs).
CEO of Avatar Micoud Eagles Sibi Gopalakrishnan spoke to Voice Sports about the tremendous joy that this victory has brought to the team and the wider community.
Micoud Eagles are also the first-time winners of the SPLT20 – and this is their second championship title out of four competitions.
A unique feature of the Micoud team is the ‘Sammy clan’ with inclusion of four Sammy’s in the team, brothers Daren, Marlan, Lance, and Daren Sammy Jr (son of skipper Sammy).
Sibi said while he “was happy to have a father and son playing in one team”, but even more special is the way he has inspired the unit and passed on his experience and guile in playing the game.
According to the CEO, Sammy’s “presence in the tournament created a huge impact …and it motivated the young players, and with his experience and knowledge as a player and coach has provided a huge contribution for our team to win.”