Mercenary retain OSCL’s 15-overs A Division trophy

Jul 21, 2023 Sports

Kaieteur Sports – Mercenary stamped their authority once again at a big-show having surged to a comfortable nine-wicket win over Caribbean Sensation last Saturday at Ellesmere ground, Scarborough and in the process retained the Ontario Softball Cricket League’s (OSCL) 15-overs A Division trophy.

Their effort was led by an attractive, unbeaten 64 from opening batsman and Canada-based Guyanese Avish Rukhram. Mercenary was set a modest 114 for victory, with Mercenary surpassing the target off 12.1 overs.

Earlier, Caribbean Sensation were asked to take first strike and they restricted to 113-5 at the expiration of the 15-overs.

The pulsating left-handed Rukhram shared a steady, unbroken 96-run with former Berbice Inter-county player Riaz Kadir who contributed a fine 31. Rukhram, who struck five sixes and four fours, lost his opening partner Avinash Sookdeo (03) as Caribbean Sensation had early impetus in their defence.

But Rukhram and Kadir ensured there was no further fuss to confirm their status as the pre-tournament’s favourite.

When Caribbean Sensation batted, they started off impressively as top-scorer Anand Balwant and Sheik Khan put together 65 runs in 9.2 overs but once they were separated, there was a cluster of wickets. The right-handed Balwant made 41 which contained three sixes and similar number of fours while Khan felt for 12.

Their key batsman Richard Driffield (11), Rishi Samuel (01) and Devo Ramsawak (00) failed to make an impression. Extras was quite significant of being 36.

Rabindra Diaram, Sookdeo, Amit Rukhram and former Guyana youth player Shaun Deonandan picked one wicket each from their maximum three overs.

The victorious Mercenary team strikes a pose after the game

At the post-match presentation ceremony, both the winner and runners-up teams received a trophy each. Avish Rukhram was chosen as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and he also took home one. Balwant collected a trophy for being Caribbean Sensation’s MVP. The trophies were donated by former President of the OSCL Albert Ramcharran.

Current leader Shiv Persaud was on hand to witness the grand finale. He congratulated Mercenary for their outstanding performance and also winning the championship for another year.

Persaud thanked Ramcharran for his contribution as well and expressed his gratitude to all the teams (6) for their participation in 2023.

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Amit Rukhram, favourite, Rabindra Diaram, Riaz Kadir, Sookdeo

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