Tony Becca
THE SUPREME Ventures Super Cup got under way in exciting style on the weekend, and particularly so at Melbourne Oval where, with 879 runs scored for the loss of 16 wickets off 215.2 overs in two days less 50 minutes, there was a feast of runs, including 18 sixes.
After losing the toss and being sent to bat, Melbourne, without batsmen Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jnr., Llewellyn Meggs and Damion Henry, rattled up 456 for six declared off 97 overs with number three batsman Donovan Pagon, going to bat after Yanick Elliott had retired injured, blasting 121 with 18 fours and two sixes and 20-year-old right-arm legspinner Damion Jacobs, filling in as opening batsman in place of Henry and scoring his maiden century, stroking 200 not out with 21 fours and eight sixes.
In a glorious response, Manchester, the defending champions, rallied from 56 for three overnight and from 64 for four early on the second day to reach 423 off 118.2 overs with the Sinclair brothers, Donovan and Matthew, scoring 103 and 155 not out respectively, with Donovan stroking 14 fours and two sixes and Matthew 18 fours and two sixes.
ORDINARY BOWLING
Although the pitch was perfect for batting and, but for pacer Leon Bent, the bowling on both sides was ordinary, the batting of Pagon, who treated the Manchester bowling with scant respect and eased to his century in 86 minutes, Jacobs, Donovan and Matthew Sinclair was good, and in the circumstances, with their team in trouble when they came together, more so that of the Sinclair brothers who posted 179 runs for the fifth wicket and pushed Melbourne to the hilt before surrendering first innings points.
In fact, with Matthew Sinclair on the go and 'farming' the bowling, with Manchester only 34 runs away from first innings lead, from knocking off, from memory, the highest total ever set in a club match in this country, there were sighs of relief among Melbourne members when, with 50 minutes to go, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller bowled Manchester's number 11 and handed Melbourne the points.
In the match five players - Pagon, Jacobs, Donovan Sinclair, Matthew Sinclair and Miller who finished with five for 91 - pocketed $60,000 in incentives.
Elsewhere, Kingston CC, Lucas CC, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland also won first innings points, and although, but for the possible exception of the Westmoreland/ Portland encounter, not one of them was as close and as exciting as the Melbourne/Manchester clash. There were also some good batting performances and some good bowling performances.
SCORING
Batting for Kingston CC, who scored 206 and 332 for four against St. Catherine CC, Barbadian Roland Holder scored 78 and 76; batting for Lucas, who scored 263 for five declared against the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Ryan Smith scored 95; batting for JDF, Mel Wint scored 137 not out in a second innings score of 271 for five; and batting for St. Elizabeth, Damion Ebanks scored 161 and Shane Powell 96 in their team's 381 for five declared against St. Mary.
Bowling for St. Catherine, right-arm legspinner Odean Brown bagged six for 50 against Kingston; bowling for Kingston, veteran offspinner Nehemiah Perry pocketed six for 42 against St. Catherine; and bowling for Lucas against the JDF, veteran opening batsman Delroy Morgan, bowling offbreaks, took five for 13 to dismiss the opposition for 132 - the lowest total of the round.
So far, so good. The Super Cup has got off to a fine start, especially as far as individual performances are concerned.
After round one, five batsmen have scored centuries, one batsman has scored a double century, four bowlers - all spinners - have taken five wickets in an innings, and based on those individual performances, the players, six of them, are $110,000 richer.
