The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

MISSION accomplished.

The Bahamas national team dominated the International Cricket Council (ICC) Americans Division II Championships by completing a four-match sweep over their counterparts on Saturday at Haynes Oval and now they are getting ready for the Division 1 championships in March in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In a match that was reduced to 15 overs per side after a delay for more than a hour due to a damp spot on the southern end of the ground, the Bahamas didn’t waste any time in wracking up the numbers against the Turks and Caicos for an impressive 60-run victory.

While the Bahamas stayed undefeated, the team had to dig down deep to pull off a nine-run win over Panama in what could be described as the match of the tournament on Friday that actually secured the Bahamas promotion again to the Division 1 Championships.

“It was a good tournament. All the training and preparation paid off,” said Greg Taylor Sr. one of the organisers of the tournament. “They played magnificent cricket and they remained undefeated.”

This is actually the third time that the Bahamas has been promoted to Division 1, having won the DII tournament. But Taylor Sr said once the team can play fundamental ball, they will be successful.

In putting the finishing touches on the tournament, Marc Taylor had a spectacular display with 76 from 32 balls, including nine 4s and five 6s, while Jonathan Barry (53) from 28 balls with six 4s and three 6s as they combined for a century.

Together, Taylor and Barry, who turned out to be the Player of the Tournament, added 117 for the third wicket as the Bahamas finished with a total of 161/6 from 13 overs.

“I knew the tournament was coming to an end, so I wanted to go all out,” said Marc Taylor about his performance. “I was being aggressive, but it’s what I usually do. I just had a rough start to this tournament, but I was able to catch myself and do better.”

Having fallen into such a deep hole, Turks and Caicos tried their best to bounce back as Damian St Ange had 36 runs and Garvin Bruno added 31 to finish at 106/8 from 13 overs, but it wasn’t enough.

In the clincher on Friday to return to D1 for the first time since 2010, the Bahamas won the toss and elected to bat, posting a challenging 165/7 from their allotted 20 overs. Once again, leading the way was Marc Taylor (49) with five 4’s and a 6 from 44 balls.

Helping out in the win was his elder brother Gregory Taylor II (27) with three 4’s and one 6, while Jonathan Barry (18), Julio Jemison (16), and Turan Brown (14).

In reply, Panama lost Soyab Chohan without scoring and the crowd that gathered by this time erupted into jubilation. Panama however were not over and a spirited fight back by Imran Bulbulia (68) with nine 4s and a 6, and captain Irfan Tarajia (46) with four 4s and three 6s, sent the home support into believing it was all gone.

But the Bahamas captain Gregory Taylor II came into the attack and held his nerve admirably as he totaled 4 overs, 21 runs and 2 wickets, including the all-important Irfan Tarajia, and then immediately afterwards Rajesh Ahir to put the contest out of reach of Panama.

“It came right down to the wire. It was tight right down to the wire. We had to keep the ball tight and go outside on the stem to stop them,” Taylor II said. “It was good because we won the tournament and now we have to get ready to travel in March.”

Brain Tappin, one of the veterans on the youthful team. called it a fantastic feat.

“It’s a good feeling because we know we belong to division one. We proved it in the past by winning the tournament,” he said. “So it’s a good feeling to be back in division one.”

As for the team’s performance, Tappin said they all did what they had to do.