Valkyres B won the closing match of the Manx Cricket Season when they beat Peel & St John’s B in a gripping Blincoe Cup Final on Saturday.
The Saints batted first and made 119 for 9 with skipper Alex Williamson hitting an excellent 51, which included 6 fours. He was stumped off the spin of Rob Weight who returned 3 -26. Kieran Cawte made 13 and Colin Gilbert 11, while Hameed Sulthan bowled well for 2 -10.
In reply Valkyres got off to a good start with an opening stand of 50. This ended when Paul Fleming fell to Adrian Jackson for 24. Shahid Rafique carried on in style and had reached 47 when he was trapped by Colin Gilbert. The innings ended on 147 for 5 which gave the Douglas club a first innings lead of 28.
Valkyres batted again and Rafique led the way once more with 22. The scoring, steady but on the slow side, reached 90 after 12 overs when Weight and Arun Mahalingham came together.
The pair put on 57 in next to no time. As a climax they smashed 22 from the final over to take their side to a healthy 147 for 5 At the finish Mahalingham was 30 not out and Weight undefeated on 29. Tom Gascoyne took 2 -12, Gilbert 1 -12 and Daniel Dickinson 1 -14.
The Saints now had an imposing target of 176 in their final innings. After the loss of an early wicket, Williamson and Miller had a splendid stand of 87 before disaster struck. On 102 for 1 Williamson was carried off injured, having struck 37. Almost immediately Miller was dismissed by Weight for 46 and the momentum was lost.
Later Williamson bravely returned but was clearly in pain and restricted in movement. He was run out for 47 as the Saints finished on 143.
That gave Valkyres victory by 32 runs. Their jubilant skipper Paul Fleming was presented with the trophy by Mike Ellis. This is only the second time the club have won the Blincoe Cup and it made a fitting end to their 50th season celebrations.
- Ends -
