Spring Garden Cavaliers sent a warning to 14-times champions Forties ahead of Sunday's season-ending Commercial Cricket League Knockout showdown by brushing aside the challenge of BC Allrounders in the League Cup final.

"We are all looking forward to the Knockout final on Sunday," said Cavaliers' skipper Barry Richards after their six-wicket weekend triumph.

"The guys are really excited, and hope we can turn that excitement into something positive.

"We are going to play as hard as we can."

The clubs have not met in a Knockout final for two decades.

Cavaliers, known as West Indian Association until they changed their name this season, faced Forties in September 1988 at the old Nationals ground in Devonshire and crashed to a 63-run defeat.

Gordon Campbell, who skippers the team now, topscored with 42 in Forties' 177 before WIA collapsed from 88 for four to 114 all out as slow bowler Clive Cotton and medium pacer Julian Sykes snapped up seven wickets between them.

This Sunday, Campbell's side is likely to include three players also due to play 24 hours earlier in a 40-overs-a-side match between the Bermuda Masters and Commercial League champions Jamaican Association at Lord's for the new Warrington (Soup) Zuill cricket cup, including Zuill's 49-year-old son Hoyt, who has taken 17 wickets in five matches for Forties this season.

Campbell is hoping his Masters players, who are all over the age of 45, will be fresh enough for Sunday's final at Shelly Bay, also a 40-overs-a-side affair, in which Forties are the defending champions, having beaten Fine Leg Byes in last season's finale at Lord's.

Cavaliers will be missing the services of three players on Sunday. Reginald (Lucky) Pitcher and Craig Smith, who claimed four wickets against BC Allrounders, are off to Jamaica for a prison officers' cricket tournament, while Sri Lankan all-rounder Jeff DeSilva is also away. But key player Lloyd Morrison, who was unavailable for Sunday's final, will be back.

In the only meeting between the clubs this season, Forties had the better of a drawn league match.

BC Allrounders, appearing in their first final, struggled for runs at Shelly Bay after being sent in by Cavaliers in Sunday's League Cup final, which used a Twenty20 format, sliding to 71 all out in 16.3 overs as Smith, bowling medium pace off a short run-up, claimed four for 14 from four overs. Anthony Braithwaite took two for 17 from four before DeSilva polished off the innings with two wickets in three deliveries.

Only tailender Clinton Outerbridge offered any real resistance, hitting the only two fours of the innings in his 19. Extras, including 16 wides, accounted for 22 of the total. The only other batsman to reach double figures was opener Dano Outerbridge with ten.

Richards, deceived by a full toss that might have been called a no-ball, fell for five but fellow Barbadian Dave Greenridge took control, stroking two fours in his 34 that laid the foundation for Cavaliers' victory with 23 balls to spare and adding 38 for the second wicket with Richards Foulds, who was caught on the long-on boundary by Shejuan Swan for 16, having earlier taken three superb catches.

Worrell Bean was the pick of the BC Allrounders attack with two for 13 from 3.1 overs.

"We played a good game. We made a little bit of a mess with the batting, but we got there in the end," said skipper Richards whose side, playing as WIA, also won last year's League Cup final against Forties.

BC Allrounders' manager Kenneth Smith admitted: "Our boys didn't stand up like they should have. But it should put them in good stead for next season."

COMMERCIAL LEAGUE

League Cup final

(Twenty20)

Shelly Bay: Spring Garden Cavaliers beat BC Allrounders by six wickets

BC Allrounders

D.Outerbridge c Foulds b Brathwaite 10

M.Steede b Diamond 5

D.Smith c wk Clarke b Smith 3

S.Swan b Smith 0

W.Bean c wk Clarke b Smith 2

L.Talbot c Foulds b Smith 0

A.Paul c Foulds b Narayanan 8

C.Outerbridge b DeSilva 19

S.Fubler b Brathwaite 2

F.Simmons b DeSilva 0

R.Ebbin c Brathwaite b DeSilva 0

Extras (5-lb, 16-w, 1-nb) 22

Total (16.3 overs) 71

Fall of wicket: 1-14, 2-20, 3-20, 4-24, 5-29, 6-34, 7-54, 8-58, 9-71

Bowling: S.Diamond 4-0-13-1, C.Smith 4-0-14-4, I.Narayanan 4-0-21-1, A.Brathwaite 4-0-17-2, J.DeSilva 0.3-0-1-2

Spring Garden Cavaliers

B.Richards c D.Outerbridge b C.Outerbridge 5

D.Greenidge c wk D.Outerbridge b Bean 34

R.Foulds c Swan b Paul 16

A.Braithwaite b Bean 2

C.Weekes not out 6

J.DeSilva not out 7

Extras (2-lb, 3-w) 5

Total (for four wickets, 16.1 overs) 75

Fall of wicket: 1-7, 2-45, 3-59, 4-68

Bowling: D.Smith 4-0-15-0, C.Outerbridge 3-1-12-1, A.Paul 2-0-15-1, S.Swan 4-1-18-0, W.Bean 3.1-1-13-2

Umpire: Oscar Andrade