SINCE its inception, the Dream 11 St Lucia T10 Blast Cricket Tournament has been creating a buzz among cricket fans and sports likers in general.
The 5th edition of the tournament concluded with an exciting challenge at the Philip Marcellin Ground, in Vieux Fort, last month.
Central Castries Mindoo Heritage retained the Cup for the 2024 Championship by defeating Mon Repos in the finals.
Gros Islet Cannon Blasters secured third place after getting past Soufriere Sulphur City Stars in the playoffs.
A tabulation of the major highlights from this year’s contest are as follows:
Central Castries Mindoo Heritage captain and opening batter, Stephen Naitram, who was voted Player of the Tournament, recorded the Most Runs. He amassed 362 runs from 8 innings with a Highest Score of 76 * against Babonneau Leatherbacks.
He complemented that impressive knock with equally impressive half-century scores of 54 against Soufriere Sulphur City Stars, 52 not out against South Castries Lions and 64 against Mon Repos Stars in the Grand Final. Naitram finished with a Batting Average of 60.33 per innings, along with a Strike Rate of 232.05.
Occupying second position in the aggregate of runs was Junior Henry of Soufriere Sulphur City Stars with 331 runs that included two half-centuries at an average of 66.20 per innings, and a Strike Rate of 199.40.
South Castries’ Johnson Charles followed in third position with 241 runs at an average of 40.17 and a Strike Rate of 236.27.
Babonneau Leatherbacks’ Johnnel Eugene was next on 229 runs with an average of 45.80 and a Strike Rate of 177.52, and was followed in fifth position by Micoud Eagles’ Shervin Charles, who tallied 199 runs and finished with an average of 33.17 and a Strike Rate of 170.09.
Jamal Lesmond, 29 the left-arm spinner from Mon Repos ended up with the Most Wickets. In eight matches, he bowled 13 Overs and captured 12 wickets for 117 runs at 9.75 runs per wicket to go along with an Economy Rate of 9.00 and a Strike Rate of 6.50. Lesmond had best bowling figures of 3 / 5 in a match that earned him Player-of-the-Match against Vieux Fort North Raiders.
The other top bowlers, included seamers Bronte Bess (Mon Repos Stars), Darvin Forde (Gros Islet Cannon Blasters) and Tyler Sookwa (Central Castries Mindoo Heritage) – the three occupied joint second position with 11 wickets each.
Other Highlights of the Tournament include the Highest Innings Total – 151 for 3 off 10 overs by South Castries Lions against Vieux Fort North Raiders; while the Lowest Innings Total was recorded by Mon Repos Stars, who were dismissed for 104 (9.3) in the finals versus Central Castries.
Former West Indies youth player and captain of the Gros Islet Cannon Blasters, Kimani Melius hit the only century of the tournament with an unbeaten 102 off 41 balls (5×4, 12×6).
The tournament produced seventeen (17) half-centuries, with Stephen Naitram registering the most – 4.
The Fastest Half-Century was recorded by Naitram with 50 off 12 balls (including hitting a bowler for 32 runs in an over).
The Most Balls Faced by a Batter were 166 by Junior Henry, while Melius recorded the Highest Individual Score of 102* (41 balls). Naitram hit the Most Sixes – 27, while Junior Henry led the way with the Most Fours – 36.