Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/4461/-1/127/
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20/20 Cricket: Anguilla Beat St. Maarten
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The 2007 Caribbean Commercial Bank-sponsored cricket season in Anguilla opened at the Ronald Webster Park on Sunday, March 11, with a 20-20-overs match with cash prizes awarded by Michael Fleming, a benevolent lover of the sport.
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Members of the St. Maarten Team
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With good crowd support and the excellent batting of Shaka Hodge, who made 74 runs, Chesney Hughes, who scored 37 not out and Omari Banks, with 34 not out, the Anguilla team won the extremely exciting game with three overs to spare. Anguilla won by nine wickets. Not only did the local team win the match but also the first cash price provided by Mr. Fleming.
St. Maarten batted first and for a time seemed assured of the match having then amassed 169 runs after their 20-overs and loss of six wickets, but the Anguillian team dashed their hopes with some really good butt.
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Members of the Anguilla Team
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Managing Director of CCB, Preston Bryan, said that for a long time the bank had been sponsoring cricket in Anguilla and he was pleased that Michael Fleming had come forward to sponsor the opening match. Noting his coming retirement, Mr. Bryan said this was his last involvement with cricket in his capacity as Managing Director of CCB, but he would maintain his personal interest in the sport.
He told the cricketers that the sport had a lot of opportunities to offer for their personal development and that they should aspire to reach the top of the game like many other persons.
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Messrs Bryan, Hodge Kelsick, Dr. Lloyd and Michael Fleming
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President of the Anguilla Cricket Association, Ralph Hodge, said that over the next year he would like to see the coaching quality in Anguilla improve. “Cricket is now a career and not only a sport for fun,” he said. “We must get our players involved in all aspects of the game. I certainly want to work very closely with the Sports Office and the Ministry of Sports, and even closer with the Caribbean Commercial Bank, which has been a very good corporate sponsor over the years.”
Sports Director Alkins Rogers said Mr. Bryan had been around with cricket for a long time and was grateful to him for his support. He challenged the Anguilla and St.Maarten Cricket Associations to make their opening match an annual event. He hoped that Michael Fleming would be able to continue to offer the cash incentives to spur on the players for many years to come.
Mr. Rogers was pleased that Ralph Hodge had made the point that the Anguilla Cricket Association would pay attention to developing the skills of players. He assured him of the support of the Ministry and Department of Sports and emphasised the need for the players to show the type of commitment that was necessary for them to attain the top levels of the sport.
Michael Fleming thanked the St. Maarten team for making the match possible. His cash offers were as follows: US$1500 for the team scoring the most runs and US $500 for the other team. He said that for the next match the cash awards would be US$2,500 for the winner and US$1,500 for the other team. Other prizes were for the man of the match; player of the match; the player with the most runs; the bowler taking the most wickets; the outstanding fielder and catcher as well as those players who hit the most 4s and 6s.
CuisinArt Resort & Spa and Cap Juluca contributed supplies for the players during the match.
The ceremonial opening of the cricket season was chaired by Renford Kelsick, Secretary of the Anguilla Cricket Association.