White Hill Field: Premier Division President’s XI beat the Vice-President’s XI by eight wickets

Joseph Basden, the young Willow Cuts all-rounder, upstaged Kamau Leverock as the President’s XI secured a comfortable victory in the second All-Star match on Saturday.

The 20-year-old claimed five wickets for 17 runs and held two catches as the President’s XI dismissed Onias Bascome’s team for just 79 in 14.4 overs in a match that lasted just two overs after the President’s XI needed just 6.5 overs to reach their target.

Dalin Richardson took the opportunity to add some excitement to the batting, hitting two straight sixes to wrap up the victory as he finished with 48 not out after putting on 75 for the third wicket with Terryn Fray who scored 22 not out.

Leverock, who had been ruled out of the match earlier in the week because he was due to fly to Britain the same evening, was a surprise inclusion for the Vice-President’s team after the two teams agreed that he would only bat and that his team would bat first.

Leverock, however, left the ground much earlier than anticipated after he was dismissed for seven after facing just 11 balls before flicking a Jahre Blakeney off his pads and giving Basden a catch at mid-wicket.

New batsman Coolidge Durham was out four balls later when he was caught by captain Jordan DeSilva off Blakeney to make it 18 for two.

The other opener, Ras Solomon Burrows and captain Onias Bascome steadied things briefly when they added 42 for the third wicket in six overs before Basden took another catch at mid-wicket to dismiss Burrows, his Willow Cuts team-mate, off the bowling of another Cuts player, Kwasi James.

Burrows was the top batsman with 27 from five boundaries while Bascome was the only other batsman in double figures, scoring 21 from 13 balls with four boundaries as four wickets went down for one run in 11 balls as they slumped from 67 for four to 68 for eight.

After Bascome fell to Dalin Richardson, Basden picked up wickets regularly at the other end as he removed Oronde Bascome and Amari Ebbin off successive deliveries before picking up three more wickets late in the innings. He bowled 3.4 overs and had one maiden.

“Obviously Kamau is a big player and we were always looking to get him out early, so any chances of getting him out we had to take it,” said Basden, the son of former Willow cuts captain, Dexter Basden, who was later named Man of the Match.

“I just came out here to have fun, which is the main idea when playing,” the all-rounder said.

Richardson supported with two for 11 from two overs while Jahre Blakeney took two for 17 as the Vice-President’s struggled to rebuild their innings after Burrows departed.

Richardson would have been another contender for MVP after an exciting knock of 48 not out after the Vice President’s team struck twice in the first over.

Treadwell Gibbons drove the first ball of the innings from Kyle Hodsoll straight to Jade Morrissey at mid-off before Hodsoll struck again with his last ball of the over when Chris Douglas flicked off his pads but straight to Durham at mid-wicket. He struck two fours from the three balls he faced.

Richardson and Terryn Fray then carried the team to victory, Richardson the more aggressive with five fours and three sixes while Fray, who hit five sixes and a four off one over against St David’s last weekend, was contend to play the supporting role, hitting four fours off 14 balls.

Vice-President’s XI

K Leverock c Basden b Blakeney 7

S Burrows c Basden b James 27

C Durham c DeSilva b Blakeney 0

*Onias Bascome c Eve b Richardson 21

Oronde Bascome lbw b Basden 2

A Ebbin c DeSilva b Basden 0

N Paynter st wk Douglas b Richardson 0

J Morrissey c Trott b Basden 9

K Hodsoll b Basden 1

K Bashir c Eve b Basden 1

f Swan not out 1

Extras (8w, 2lb) 10

Total (all out, 14.4 overs) 79

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-18, 3-60, 4-67, 5-67, 6-67, 7-67, 8-68, 9-79.

Bowling: C Trott 2-0-9-0; J Blakeney 3-0-17-2; T Gibbons 2-0-15-0; K James 2-0-8-1; J Basden 3-1-17-5; D Richardson 2-0-11-2.

President’s XI

T Gibbons c Morrissey b Hodsoll 0

C Douglas c Durham b Hodsoll 8

D Richardson not out 48

T Fray not out 22

Extras (6w) 6

Total (for two wickets, 6.5 overs) 84

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-9.

C Trott, I Richardson, J Blakeney, J Eve, J DeSilva, J Basden, K James did not bat

Bowling: K Hodsoll 2-0-23-2; K Bashir 2-0-21-0; Oronde Bascome 1.5-0-27-0, Onias Bascome 1-0-13-0.

Man of the Match: J Basden (President’s XI)

Umpires: M McCormack, B Smith