There have been some exciting events of late involving Isle of Man’s cricketing talent, following the national side’s T20 series against Guernsey which included one T20I, the Isle of Man’s domestic premiership has concluded.
Peel and St John’s came up against Cronkbourne during last Saturday’s play-off final, in what promised to be an exciting conclusion to the season. Cronkbourne won the toss and elected to field and quickly were able to develop some momentum. Cronkbourne claimed two early wickets, leaving Peel and St John, also known as the Saints, 10-2. Gaining the early momentum during any playoff-style match can be so important so Cronkbourne would be looking to cement their position whilst the Saints would be looking to recover.
Saints batsman Eddie Beard was able to come in and help guide the Saints to 60, scoring 35 valuable runs before he was caught by Jack Gerrard. Josh Mills then took over where Beard left off as he was able to turn a worrying start for the team into a solid position. Mills batted fantastically as he brought up his half century, finishing on a well-made 54 at a crucial time for his team before he was caught by Corbin Liebenberg. Mills was well supported by Charlie Beard (28), with the pair building a good partnership. Beard’s innings ended as he was run out by Jordan Chatt. The wickets did not stop the Saints from scoring runs with Phil Littlejohns, Ollie Webster and Russ Miller all making useful contributions to see the team pass the two hundred mark, with Littlejohns scoring a half century during an innings which included three sixes. Cronkbourne ended their display with the ball in fine fashion as a late wickets helped to restrict the scoring. The Saints finished on 214-9 after their allotted 40 overs meaning that the Cronkbourne team needed 215 at 5.4 per over.
An early wicket fell during the Cronkbourne chase, but Nathan Knights looked to ensure that Crockbourne remained in contention with a brisk 31 off 26 balls before he was caught by Littlejohns. However, despite Josh Clough scoring 26, the chase lost momentum. Wickets falling really restricted the scoring and the score quickly read 91 for eight. Patrick Cox’s ensured that the chase remained somewhat progressing as he scored 20 off 26, but after his departure, the result was quickly confirmed with Crockbourne being bowled out for 124. The Saints won the match by 90 runs claiming this year’s Isle of Man Cricket Association’s Premiership title.
The same weekend also saw the conclusion of the Isle of Man’s division one tournament. The final saw Ramsey and Castletown compete at the Grammer School in what was a truly thrilling encounter.
Ramsey won the toss and elected to bat, however, may have looked short of runs following a floury of wickets. The Castletown bowlers were able to limit the scoring and looked to have put their team in a winning position, however, a partnership between Lucas Stennett and Leon Henroy took the score from 74 – 6 to a respectable 111 – 6 at the end of their allotted 30 overs.
The Castletown chase took a similar pattern as the team were reduced to 33 – 4. Garreth Roome scored an enterprising 20 runs and helped to stem the flow of wickets and Castletowns’ Mark Williams scored a counterattacking 52 off 37 balls, which included one six and eight fours, to help the team win with one over to spare.
The finals really showed the talent that exists within the isle of Man and the exciting division 1 final really showed the quality of the cricket on the Island.
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