The South Island Youth Cricket League kicked off their 2021 season this past weekend with the long-awaited opening match of SIYCL’s new Junior B hardball division. The Westshore
Predators were hosts to Saanich’s Mount Tolmie Ravens, with the visitors coming out on top by 5wickets.
Mount Tolmie won the coin toss, and chose to put Westshore to bat in the first innings. After shaking off some initial nerves, the Predators slowly got to work, putting up a respectable 73 runs in 14 overs. Dylan and Imaan each hit their quota of 20 runs, and Sam added another boundary in the late stages of the innings.
After the interval, the visitors took to the attack. Nerves were also in evidence here, and a pair of excellent catches by the Westshore fielders had the Ravens’ opening batsmen back in the sheds in quick succession, with little to show for their efforts. Niel came on at number 4 though, and quickly righted the ship, dispatching a pair of consecutive maximums en route to his 20-run quota in just 14 balls.
The Ravens’ middle order held up well in what became a battle of attrition, and they eventually eclipsed the asking rate in the 14th over with three balls to spare.
Defensively, Jackson led the way for the Predators fielding efforts, taking two catches and bowling out another two batsmen himself, while Eshaan had the lone wicket for Mt. Tolmie.
On Sunday, the Sidney Spitfires will travel to Beacon Hill Park to face the Capital Kraken to wrap up round 1 of this year’s tournament.
Visit the website at www.siycl.ca to stay up to date on the latest scores and stats as the season progresses.
MTR 74/5 (13.3) d. WSP 73/1 (14)
