The Barbados Squash Club Boasters team cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory in the final of the Barbados Squash Rackets Association’s Inter-Club League which was played on Friday night.
In the final which was played on court #1, the top two teams in this year’s competition squared off with the BSC Boasters seeking revenge for a 2-3 loss to the BSC Blasters earlier in round robin league play. First on court for the Boasters at #5 was 13-year old Jonathan O’Dowd, who played with great confidence to defeat the experienced Ronald Watson in straight games 9/6 9/1 9/7. Then at #4, Jasper Seymour outplayed Ashok Merai to also win in straight games 9/7 9/4 9/6 to put the Boasters two up. There was no way back for the Blasters after those two upsets. At #1, the Blasters captain and the island’s best female player for the last five years, Karen Meakins, fought hard against 8-time former national champion, Mark Sealy who dropped the first game but eventually prevailed 5/9 9/1 9/4 9/6 to seal victory for his team. In the penultimate match Cliff Nolan at #3 got the Blasters on the board with a straight games victory over Jerry Hutchinson who pulled up lame early in the first game and had to concede by default. However the Boaster’s captain, Jason Small, rounded out the 4-1 victory for his team with a topsy turvy win at #2 over Craig Archer 9/0 0/9 8/10 9/7 9/5 to the delight of the very frank and vocal Boasters’ supporters.
On court #2 the Battalion B placed third by winning a hard fought tie by three matches to two over the Pleasant Place Strikers. Playing at #5 for the Battalion B team Bertram Butcher defeated Edna Corbette in five close games 8/10 9/3 4/9 9/5 9/2. Then at #4, Val Fergusson defeated Michael Best in another close match 9/3 2/9 10/9 3/9 9/6 to give the Battalion B a 2-0 lead in the tie. The Strikers pulled things back to two all through their #1, Gavin Cumberbatch, who dispatched John Cumberbatch 9/1 9/2 9/0 and #3 Cheri-Ann Parris who defeated Nkosi Ross in straight games 9/4 9/5 9/3. With everything hinging on the final match the Battalion’s #2 Norman Rice took the court full of confidence and convincingly demolished Andre Donawa in straight games 9/1 9/6 9/5 with his trademarked mixture of lobs, boasts and drops to win the tie to the delight of his team mates.
Presentation of trophies for the ICL took place immediately following the last match. Trophies were presented by Mr. Mylon Wason to the top four teams and to the Most Valuable Players at each position. The final standings were as follows:
2006 BSRA Inter-Club Squash League
Champions – Squash Club Boasters
Runners-up – Squash Club Blasters
Third place – Battalion B
Fourth Place – Pleasant Place Strikers
#1 string MVP – Gavin Cumberbatch (PP Strikers)
#2 string MVP – Jason Small (BSC Boasters)
#3 string MVP – Cliff Nolan (BSC Blasters)
#4 string MVP – Liu Ross (Battalion B)
#5 string MVP – David Goodman (Battalion A)
The final ICL standings as at March 17th are given in the spreadsheet below.
2006 Inter-Club League Final Results (Excel format) – file no. 1