A star was born and a new batch of champions hit the block on Sunday afternoon as Stella Maris Primary School emerged winners of the “Future Warriors” Tape-ball tournament, powered by ExxonMobil Guyana.
Playing at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Ground, Stella Maris remained unbeaten through the three-team round-robin stage, before a commanding win in the anticipated final.
Earlier in the day, Stella Maris defeated St Pius Primary by 23 runs after posting 49-4, as Nicholai Hawker took 3-2 from his two overs to rout St Pius in the chase. Ashawn Collins assisted with 2-8 from one over in the impressive bowling performance.
In the next game, eventual highest run-scorer Tafari Softleigh, alongside Brandon Frank, flexed his bat to get the team to 103 without loss in the first innings. Softleigh hit 63 from 29 balls, inclusive of five sixes, while Frank contributed 33 from 19. In the chase, FE Pollard Primary only got to 39-5 in their eight overs. Softleigh also shone with the ball, taking 3-4 from two overs.
With Stella Maris already securing their place in the final, St Pius and FE Pollard battled for the next spot in the final. FE Pollard prevailed by a three-run margin after batting first. The team got to 55-2 in their eight overs, compliments of a sparkling 32 from 18 off the bat of Devante Primo. They then restricted St Pius to 52-5, with Christian Seenauth being the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-8 from two overs. In the grand finale, FE Pollard also batted first, posting 46-2 in their eight overs. Primo was once again outstanding, hitting 39 from 24, including eight fours. In the chase, Stella Maris’s Frank smashed 28 from 10 and Softleigh 19 from 8 to lead their team to the championship inside three overs.
For his innings of 63, Softleigh received a $10,000 gift voucher, while Seenauth received the same for bowling figures of 5-16 in two overs, earlier in the tournament.
Both players also received the best batsman and best bowler accolades for 135 runs and seven wickets in the tournament, respectively. As part of their championship prize, Stella Maris Primary will get the opportunity to meet the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) team. That will be facilitated by ExxonMobil. The tournament was organised by FL Sport.
