Devonshire 97

Western Stars 98-6

After a brief scare, Western Stars settled down to maintain their unbeaten record as they successfully retained the Central Counties crown at St. John's Field on Saturday, defeating cross-town rivals Devonshire Recreation Club by four wickets.

Stars skittled their First Division opponents out for just 97 in 28.5 overs, and were presented with the relatively easy task of scoring at a rate of around 1.96 runs an over.

But skipper Albert Steede opted to reverse his batting order - perhaps in an effort to make a game of it - and at one point may have been regretting that decision.

The move almost proved costly as Devonshire had the Premier League leaders stuttering at 45 for six, thanks largely to the bowling heroics of Rudy Smith who returned impressive figures of five for 28.

But even this outstanding performance couldn't thwart Stars, who eventually reached their target without any further damage as Steede (23 retired hurt) and Hasan Durham (20 not out) stopped the rot.

Both Steede and Durham cautiously stroked just one four apiece in their innings.

Jermaine Postlethwaite (10) and Justin Robinson (15) also made worthwhile contributions while Jekon Edness (0), Jah Jah Millett (0) and Maurice Lowe (six) all fell cheaply.

Earlier, Lowe played a major role in the demise of Devonshire, who at one point were 53 without loss.

In the space of two deliveries the youngster made a major breakthrough, having Wendell Swan (26) caught by veteran Treadwell Gibbons and then combining with wicketkeeper Edness to send Omar Amory (20) back to the pavilion.

But from here on in, Stars applied the domino effect as wickets began falling regularly. Devonshire lost their next eight players for just 43 runs with only number nine bat Randy Smith (ten) managing double figures.

Leverock (two for six) and Robinson (two for 13) also contributed to Devonshire's demise, while the diminutive Dennico Hollis pulled off a spectacular catch backward of square leg to dismiss Devonshire skipper Winston (Herb) Trott and was also at the crease when the winning runs were scored.

Devonshire's Dennis Williams grabbed one for 27 off ten overs before Stars eclipsed the target in just 31 overs to book a June 22 date in the final against Police.