Bridgetown, Barbados, December 11 – (www.bcacricket.org) - Again spurred by their much vaunted spin attack, CGI/Sandy Crest Maple tonight became the first team to capture two titles in the four-year history of the BCA Sagicor General Twenty20 tournament with a 31-run win over last year’s champions ICBL Empire at Kensington Oval.

After accelerating in the latter half of their innings to total 127 for eight off 20 overs of which Rayad Emrit, the Trinidad & Tobago fast bowling all-rounder topscored with 39 off 26 balls, Maple then put Empire under pressure by taking early wickets.

The Trents-based, St. James team, winners of the first championship in 2008, sustained the pressure to such an extent that Empire, playing their third consecutive final, never recovered and were bowled out for 96 with one over remaining.

Off-spinner Don O’neal was the main destroyer with four for 23 off four overs, which earned him the man-of-the-man award, while left-arm spinner Jamar Griffith picked up two for eight off three overs with the new ball as Maple employed four spinners for the first 15 overs.

Jomel Warrican, batting at No. 9, topscored for the Bank Hall side with 22 before he was last dismissed, run out attempting a second run in what was the best partnership of the innings (19) with Andre Evelyn.

Jubilant Maple supporters then celebrated with their team, who pocketed the increased $20 000 prize, in front of the Greenidge & Haynes stand in the presence of long-standing Member of Parliament for St. James North, Rawle Eastmond, himself a big cricket fan and who also played a part in the match as a guest analyst on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation Sports Express commentary team.

Pedro Agard, the Maple captain, who was at the helm when they won their only Division 1 title in 1992, and who has represented the club for 22 consecutive seasons, gave the innings a brisk start by taking 12 runs off the very first over from pacer Javon Searles after he had won the toss.

Searles bowled Shane Ramsay for seven with the score 21 in the third over and the tempo soon slowed as Agard and Marlon Welcome-Goodman added 27 in 6.2 overs for the second wicket.

Left-hander Welcome-Goodman was bowled by left-arm spinner Warrican for 12 as he swung across and without addition in the next over, Agard was leg before wicket by seamer Evelyn for 24, which came off 28 balls and contained four boundaries.

After reaching 49 for three at the half-way stage, Maple were lifted by a fourth wicket partnership of 41 off 6.2 overs between the far more dominant Emrit and Renaldo Parris.

As was the case in the first semi-final match against the 2009 champions TeleBarbados Carlton on Thursday night, Parris batted slowly. He scored 11 off 20 balls before swinging left-arm unorthodox spinner Dave Mohammed into the hands of deep midwicket in Kevin Stoute.

Griffith fell in the next over to a catch at the wicket by Jamal Smith off Evelyn without scoring and then Mohammed gleefully celebrated after bowling his compatriot Emrit, who struck three fours and one six.

Mohammed also bowled Barrington Yearwood off the last ball of the same over to leave Maple on 103 for seven but left-hander Orman Kellman lashed out with telling effect in an unbeaten 23, which included three fours and one six off only eight balls as Mohammed removed Kirk Brome leg before wicket in the final over to finish with four for 30 off four overs.

Griffith gave Maple the early boost they needed when he bowled the in-form Stoute for one with his first delivery in the second over as the batsman essayed a drive.

Captain Smith, who opened in the absence of Jason Parris, who missed the match because of an injury, was easily stumped by Agard off off-spinner Ramsay for 11 in the fifth over.

Alcindo Holder was leg before wicket by Griffith without scoring and veteran Shawn Graham, who struggled in scoring seven off 25 balls, edged O’neal to Agard as Empire slipped to 27 for four by the end of the eighth over.

When Ryan Hinds lofted O’neal into the hands of deep midwicket in Griffith after scoring 12 to leave the score 36 for five in the tenth over, Maple knew the title was well within their grasp and they did not let up.

Jason Haynes (six) was caught at bowled off a short ball from O’neal, who next had Mohammed stumped for 12 in a desperate attempt to pull Empire out of their deep hole.

Searles, potentially Empire’s last hope of counter-attacking, was bowled by medium-pacer Kirk Brome for nine as they plunged to 65 for eight in the 16th over and after pacer Emrit also bowled Carleon Brome for six in the next over, it was only a matter of time before Maple would celebrate.

SCORECARD

MAPLE

*+P. Agard lbw b Evelyn                    24     (28 balls, 4 fours)

S. Ramsay b Searles                           7     (9 balls, 1 four)

M. Welcome-Goodman b Warrican       12    (20 balls, 2 fours)

R. Parris c Stoute b Mohammed          11    (20 balls)

R. Emrit b Mohammed                       39    (26 balls, 3 fours, 1 six)

J. Griffith c wk Smith b Evelyn              0   (2 balls)

O. Kellman not out                            23    (8 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes)

B. Yearwood b Mohammed                   0   (3 balls)

K. Brome lbw b Mohammed                  1   (2 balls)

R. Greaves not out                               3   (3 balls)

Extras (lb2, w4, nb1)                           7

TOTAL (8 wks, 20 overs)                    127

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Ramsay, 2.3 overs), 2-48 (Welcome-Goodman, 8.5), 3-48 (Agard, 9.3), 4-89 (Parris, 15.5), 5-94 (Griffith, 16.5), 6-103 (Emrit, 17.3), 7-103 (Yearwood, 18), 8-117 (Brome, 19.1).

Did not bat: D. O’neal.

Bowling: Searles 4-0-26-1 (w1), Hinds 4-0-19-0 (w1, nb1), Warrican 4-0-18-1, Evelyn 4-0-32-2, Mohammed 4-0-30-4 (w2).

EMPIRE

*+J. Smith st Agard b Ramsay            11     (13 balls, 1 four)

K. Stoute b Griffith                              1     (2 balls)

S. Graham c wk Agard b O’neal            7     (25 balls)

A. Holder lbw b Griffith                        0     (1 ball)

R. Hinds c Griffith b O’neal                  12    (12 balls, 2 fours)

J. Haynes c & b O’neal                         6     (9 balls)

D. Mohammed st Agard b O’neal         12    (10 balls, 2 fours)

J. Searles b Brome                              9    (12 balls, 1 six)

J. Warrican run out (O’neal)                22    (20 balls, 2 fours)

C. Brome b Emrit                                6    (5 balls, 1 four)

A. Evelyn not out                                3    (5 balls)

Extras (b1, lb1, w5)                            7

TOTAL (all out, 19 overs)                    96

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Stoute, 1.1 overs), 2-16 (Smith, 5), 3-18 (Holder, 5.4), 4-27 (Graham, 8), 5-36 (Hinds, 9.3), 6-47 (Haynes, 11.3), 7-54 (Mohammed, 13.1), 8-65 (Searles, 15.3 overs), 9-77 (Brome, 16.5), 10-96 (Warrican, 19).

Bowling: Ramsay 4-0-16-1, Griffith 3-1-8-2 (w1), O’neal 4-0-23-4, Greaves 4-1-16-0, Brome 2-0-9-1 (w1), Emrit 2-0-22-1 (w3).

Result: Maple won by 31 runs.

Sagicor General Man-of-the-Match: Don O’neal.

Adjudicator: Henderson Springer.

Toss: Maple.

Umpires: Patrick Grazette, Sylvan Leacock. Reserve: Burtnul Ricardo Harrison.

Match referee: Michael Thompson.

Duckworth-Lewis Manager: Mervyn Jones.

Scorers: Suzanne Belle, Leslay Prescod, Harold Fortune.

Prize money: Maple $20 000; Empire $10 000.

=====================================

2011 BCA Sagicor General Twenty20 championship, Final, Result, Scores

Bridgetown, Barbados, December 11 – (www.bcacricket.org) - Summarised scores and result of play in the final of the 2011 BCA Sagicor General Twenty20 championship at Kensington Oval here tonight:

CGI/Sandy Crest Maple 127-8 (20 overs) (Rayad Emrit 39 – 26 balls, 3 fours, a six; Pedro Agard 24, Orman Kellman 23 not out – 8 balls, 2 fours, 1 six; Marlon Welcome-Goodman 12, Renaldo Parris 11; Dave Mohammed 4-30, Andre Evelyn 2-32).

ICBL Empire 96 all out (19 overs) (Jomel Warrican 22, Ryan Hinds 12, Dave Mohammed 12, Jamal Smith 11; Don O’neal 4-23, Jamar Grifith 2-8).

Result: Maple won by 31 runs.

Sagicor General Man-of-the-Match: Don O'neal.

Toss: Maple.

Umpires: Patrick Grazette, Sylvan Leacock.

Match referee: Michael Thompson.

Duckworth-Lewis Manager: Mervyn Jones.

============================

INNINGS SCORES

Bridgetown, Barbados, December 11 – (www.bcacricket.org) - Summarised innings scores of play in the final of the 2011 BCA Sagicor General Twenty20 championship at Kensington Oval here tonight:

CGI/Sandy Crest Maple 127-8 (20 overs) (Rayad Emrit 39 – 26 balls, 3 fours, a six; Pedro Agard 24, Orman Kellman 23 not out – 8 balls, 2 fours, 1 six; Marlon Welcome-Goodman 12, Renaldo Parris 11; Dave Mohammed 4-30, Andre Evelyn 2-32) v ICBL Empire.

Toss: Maple.

Umpires: Patrick Grazette, Sylvan Leacock.

Match referee: Michael Thompson.

Duckworth-Lewis Manager: Mervyn Jones.