North Village celebrated winning the Commercial Cricket League title for the second time in three seasons but it came in anticlimactic fashion when Fine Leg Byes defaulted Sunday's match after refusing to play with eight men.

The hollow victory, which ended second-placed Hamilton Parish's title hopes, was confirmed after FLB spokesman Angus Lynn rejected pleas by league officials on Saturday to honour their commitment and play the match.

"It was discourteous to Parish," said Village spokesman Wendell Lindsay.

Said Lynn on Monday: "Our best-case scenario was eight but when I told one of my bowlers this he no longer wanted to play the game. Given that my numbers had started to reverse, I decided to call it off.

"I put a lot of time and effort into getting a team out. Unfortunately, this week I wasn't able to despite my best efforts."

If FLB had turned up and fashioned an unlikely draw, it would have added spice to next month's final league match between Village (65 points) and Parish (52 points) that will now be of academic interest only.

Ironically, last season FLB shattered Village's dreams when they beat them by three wickets in the final match, handing the title instead to Forties, who had trailed by a point going into the last week.

Last month, West Indian Association played with only eight men against Parish — and on Sunday Jamaican Association fielded only eight players yet still secured a losing draw against Forties in a match of fluctuating fortunes.

In another of Sunday's matches, Western Stars fielded only nine players — three of them under the age of 13 — and performed creditably against WIA before succumbing to a six-wicket defeat in a game reduced to 40 overs a side.

St. David's' match against BC Allrounders at Garrison Field ended in utter chaos with the scores level. The East Enders' last pair were at the crease when the umpires pulled up the stumps and walked off after a dispute over a wide. The points — the first for BC Allrounders — will be shared unless a protest is filed with the league within seven days.

Forties, who won the toss and batted, made 205 for nine at the Warren Simmons Community Field in a match reduced to 40 overs a side because of a late start but failed to prise out the last pair as JA closed on 174 for six after they had earlier threatened to pull off an improbable victory.

Forties slipped to 10 for two but a half century from Yatin Gawas, coupled with 29 from Rohan Davis, an unbeaten 27 from 15-year-old Dylan DeSilva and 22 from David Campbell, helped post a competitive total.

Davis and Campbell featured in a third-wicket stand of 62 and the DeSilva and Oscar Andrade (16) added 41 for the ninth wicket after Gawas blasted eight fours and a six in his 45-ball 54.

JA's hero was former captain Junior Lindo, who followed up his four for 25 from seven overs by hitting seven fours in a 64-ball knock of 51, while skipper Ian Coke defied Forties with an unbeaten 46 from 78 balls. Opener Donovan Livingston made 24 and last man Daniel Edwards an unbeaten 21.

Lindo and Coke added 56 in a fourth-wicket stand — "they had us reeling until we got Junior out," admitted Campbell — and then Coke saved the day by teaming up with Edwards in an unbroken last-wicket stand of 45.

David DeSilva bagged three for 35 from nine overs and Blake West two for 27, also from nine.

After an hour's delay while a wet run-up was dried out, openers Junior Campbell and skipper Chris Smith (30) gave Western Stars a flying start with a stand of 96 at St. John's Field, Campbell stroking four fours and two sixes in his 85.

Twelve-year-old Tre Manders made 16, including two fours, as Stars closed their allotted 40 overs on 169 for seven.

Off-spinner Dave Bhagwan, a Guyanese policeman who later made 37, was the pick of the WIA attack with four for 20 from six while Jerry Callender took two for 27 from eight.

WIA's reply was highlighted by a quickfire unbeaten 60 from Andy Boyce, who blasted eight fours and three sixes, reaching his 50 from just 28 balls. Patrick Hamlett also made 35 as WIA coasted to 171 for four in the 22nd over.

Eleven-year-old Swayne Campbell took two for one from 1.4 overs and Treadwell Gibbons jr two for 41 from seven.

"Considering we had only nine players, three of them under 13, we put up a pretty good total. I don't think they expected us to bat out the 40 overs," said skipper Smith.

Worrell Bean topscored with 44 (three sixes and four fours) and Jermaine Nisbett made 43 as BC Allrounders recovered from a precarious eight for five to reach 157 in the 31.4 overs against St. David's, McLaren Lowe claiming four for 23 from 11.4 overs and Aaron Crockwell four for 26 from 11 for the East Enders in their final league fixture of the season.

The disputed wide helped St. David's draw level on 157 for nine from 25.1 overs, Jahson Smith making 44 and Crockwell 36 as Shawn Fubler claimed four for 28 from five and Bean three for 23 from 5.1.

But the match ended after the wide was called as a BCA player, apparently upset over the umpiring earlier in the St. David's innings, kicked over the stumps in frustration.

"Both teams got an attitude. It was ugly," said another BCA player. At that point the umpires gathered up the stumps and walked off.

Why play didn't resume with more than 25 overs left remained a mystery last night.