KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – Windward Islands batsman Desron Maloney starred as La Soufriere Hikers thrashed Botanic Garden Rangers in the second match of the inaugural T10 Vincy Premier League here Friday.
The 29-year-old right-hander, who made his first debut during the recent domestic season, stroked a lively unbeaten 41 from 20 balls to help Hikers chase down 71 for victory at the Arnos Vale Stadium.
Maloney struck four fours and three sixes and put on 58 for the first wicket with former Windwards first class batsman Salvan Browne, whose 22 came from 26 deliveries and included a couple of fours and a six.
Rangers had earlier tallied 70 for five after being sent in, with West Indies white-ball seamer Kesrick Williams top-scoring with 15 not out.
In the opening game, Test batsman Sunil Ambris shone with the ball but failed with the bat as his Salt Pond Breakers beat Grenadine Divers with four balls to spare.
Ambris finished with two for eight from his two overs as Divers, choosing to bat first, were held to 68 all out off their 10 overs.
Opener Shem Browne smashed 24 from 13 balls but was the only batsman to reach double figures as seamer Wesrick Strough snatched three wickets in his only over – the final one of the innings.
In reply, Ambris managed only five but Breakers recovered from 22 for four in the fourth over to scramble over the line.
The tournament is the first set of competitive cricket to be played anywhere in the world since the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic forced a halt to the sport globally.
It was given the green light by health authorities here but is being played behind closed doors at the Arnos Vale Stadium, with novel social distancing and sanitisation measures being employed by players, officials and staff.
St Vincent recorded 18 cases of COVID-19 which has seen over five million infections and 340 000 deaths globally.
