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New Eastern Counties champions make six changes
Posted: 2010-08-12
It isn’t very often that one can describe an Eastern Counties matchup as having “two evenly balanced team and can go either way”, but that will certainly be the case on Saturday when new champions Cleveland and second round challengers Flatts battle it out at Sea Breeze Oval in the second round.
It will be the first meeting between the two sides since they met in 1981 when Cleveland dethroned Flatts who beat Cleveland in the 1980 final and went on to become the first winners of the Champion of Champions compeition which involved the three Counties champions.
Now the two teams are due to meet again, with ‘champions by default’ Cleveland aiming to hold onto the trophy they won when St. David’s decided to boycott this year’s competition because of the decision by the Eastern Counties Cricket Association to switch this year’s series back to Sea Breeze Oval. Interest in the series has diminished somewhat in the absence of the competition’s strongest team, but an intriguing clash is in store as the two weakest teams battle for the right to meet Bailey’s Bay in the final in two weeks time.
Cleveland have made six changes from last year’s team, bringing in three colts and four guest players (one a guest player and colt) while Flatts have made three changes to last year’s team that lost to St. David’s in the second round. Dennis Musson Jr leads Cleveland for the first time in the counties as last year’s captain Tamauri Tucker is now ineligible, having departed Cleveland’s ranks to play for St. David’s in the league. Eastern Counties players qualify for the counties in three ways…by being born (as in grew up) inside one of the teams’ boundaries, reside in one of areas for two years or play for one of the teams for two years prior to qualifying. However, a player qualifying through the third method can also become ineligible again - as is the case with Tucker - by severing ties with that club. Tucker now has to re-qualify by playing another season with Cleveland prior to becoming eligible again.
Qualifying rules have also kept Allan Douglas Jr out of the Cleveland team this year, for while his family hails from Devils Hole (his father and uncle Steven both played for Cleveland) the allrounder was actually born in St. George’s. He is in his second year playing for Cleveland’s league team and will be eligible next year.
One player reportedly eligible for Cleveland is Bermuda captain David Hemp who resided in Harris Bay area before moving to England with his English parents. He declined an invitation to play for Cleveland, citing commitments in England.
Cleveland have opted for colts Damali Bell and Makai Young and Southampton Rangers allrounder Dion Stovell while the three other guest players Mishael Paynter of St. George’s, Jeffrey Tyrrell of Young Men’s Social Club and Curtis Jackson of Rangers, who have all played in the league for Cleveland.
The five other players left out from last year’s teams are Courtney Trott, Charles Richardson, Jason Simons, Hasan Durham and Patrick Stamp.
Flatts, too, have made changes as they bid to end almost three decades without the trophy which resides mostly in St. David’s, only occasionally taking up residence at Sea Breeze Oval. Veteran batsman Rahji Edness returns to bolster their batting while two colts have also been included, Reginald Baker and Jamaican batsman Chris Daley. The trio replace Barry DeCouto Jr, Isiah Lewis and the injured Phillip Burgess.
In all Southampton Rangers players represent four of the guest player spots, with Stovell and Jackson in the Cleveland team and Dwayne Leverock and Ryan Belboda representing Flatts.
Teams:
Cleveland: Dennis Musson (capt), Shaki Darrell (vice capt), Aaron Adams, Damali Bell (colt), Dion Stovell (colt), Steven Douglas Jr, Mishael Paynter, Curtis Jackson, Makai Young (colt), Jeffrey Tyrrell, Lavar Talbot.
Flatts: Kijuan Franks (capt), Regino Smith (vice capt), Vernon Eve, Ryan Belboda, Logan Phillips, David Bedard, Dwayne Leverock ,Rahji Edness, Reginald Baker (colt), Chris Daley (colt), Nelson Bascome.
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