Tony Becca
THE CAPITAL & Credit national limited-overs cricket competition ended in a thrilling climax at Chedwin Park on Saturday with Melbourne, thanks to a gem of an innings by Carlton Baugh Jr., clipping Manchester to win the title.
Batting second after rain had cut short Manchester's innings at 193 for seven off 46 overs, and after the Duckworth and Lewis system had left them a victory target of 159 off 29 overs, Melbourne scored 160 for four off 27.4 overs to win with 1.2 overs to spare.
Although cricket is a team game, some times victory, and particularly so in a limited-overs contest, is achieved mainly through the performance of one player.
That was the case at Chedwin Park on Saturday, and although Marlon Samuels and Ramon Hutchinson bowled extremely well, the Melbourne players, including captain Llewelyn Meggs, should step aside and leave Baugh to take a bow.
Set a rate of 5.48 runs per over, Melbourne, 21 for one in the sixth over, 29 for two in the eighth when a slow, careless Marlon Samuels was run out for five, and 39 for three in the 10th, were on the skids before Baugh blasted them to victory in a performance to remember.
In an innings during which he shared a fourth-wicket partnership of 81with Yanick Elliott (14), and an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 40 with Meggs (6 not out), in an innings during which he blasted fours and sixes at will and sensibly 'farmed' the bowling through quick singles towards the end of an over.
ALMOST PERFECT
In an innings during which his shot selection was almost perfect, in an innings during which he hit Manchester's dangerous left-arm spinner Andre Dwyer for two sixes and knocked him out of the attack after only an over, in an innings during which, with 15 to win off two overs, he hit two sixes and a four off four deliveries. Baugh, the diminutive wicketkeeper/batsman who joined the action at 29 for two, smashed six fours and five sixes while scoring 93 not out off 75 deliveries.
It was, without a doubt, the performance that robbed Manchester of the double. It was, without a doubt, the performance that handed Melbourne the title, and with Manchester on 48 for three and Melbourne dropping two or three catches, with Melbourne dropping four catches, including three simple ones when Manchester, struggling to 89 for three off 30 overs, moved to step up the scoring rate, with Melbourne winning despite their butter-fingered fielders, all the Melbourne players should say a big thank you to the little man for rescuing them.
Although he did not drop a catch, so too should captain Meggs.
From 89 for three off 30 overs, from 149 for seven, Manchester reached 193 for seven off 46 overs, and that, more than likely, was because Andre McCarty, the youngster who hardly bowls for the team in the Supreme Ventures Super Cup, bowled 10 consecutive overs and conceded 71 runs even though the main bowlers had not completed their quota of overs.
While it is possible that Meggs was holding back two of them to bowl at the end of Manchester's innings, only four overs were left when the rain came. And even if that was the plan, with Smith, one for 17, bowling only five of his allotted 10, with Bent, one for 36, bowling eight of his 10, with Samuels, one for 12, bowling eight of his 10, and with Hutchinson, zero for nine, bowling only five of his 10, that means that Melbourne would have bowled their 50 overs with their main bowlers, also their best bowlers on the day, not bowling their quota.
In other words, although Smith, Bent, Samuels and Hutchinson bowled well and still had 14 overs between them remaining, although right-arm legspinner Damion Jacobs, a regular bowler on the team, did not bowl a ball, although things were getting out of hand, the Melbourne captain bowled McCarty until he could bowl him no more and was lucky that Baugh was in dazzling form.
