da supremo： If at the start of the season you told the members of the Piton Doverthey would make the Fire Shield cricket final they would have replied:Sure
Louis Linton23-Sep-2001If at the start of the season you told the members of the Piton Doverthey would make the Fire Shield cricket final they would have replied:Sure!If you told them their opponents would be MTW, they probably wouldhave replied: MT-Who?Well, that’s the case today at the Police Sports Club, Weymouth, inthe grand final of the Barbados Fire & Commercial Shield Cricket finalthe marquee tournament for lower division sides in the BarbadosCricket Association’s (BCA) competitions.Dover, with their many former Division 1 stalwarts, start asfavourites, but don’t tell MTW that. At stake is a bounty of $5 000,while the losers will pocket $3 500 not bad for a day’s work.The team that plays better on the day will win. We have beenpractising very hard both batting and fielding and we have beengetting some physiological advice to be better prepared for the game,said MTW skipper and leading batsman Geoffrey Padmore.This is MTW’s first Shield final after 11 years in the BCA competitionand allrounder Padmore is the reason why they are there.He blasted an aggressive 73 against Central in the semifinal after histeam was struggling on 70 for six. He promises a well-balanced team inwhat should be a very competitive game.Dover warmed up yesterday in style taking the last four Fustic wicketsin 15 minutes in their Premier League match to record an inningsvictory and the afternoon off.Dover, the 1992 champions, are confident of victory according to theircaptain Vibert Greene, the former Barbados and West Indies Ballrounder.We are confident of victory, he said. We met last year and we wonquite easily, but MTW, with some new faces, will be on a high and itwill not be an easy task. I think we have the best team in the lowerdivision, but cricket is still played on the day.The Dovermen showed their mettle in the semifinal with a four-wicketvictory over the Combermere School team. It was the depth ofexperience which pulled them through.Man for man, Dover have a big advantage.The batting is centred around Peter Clarke, Silverton Weekes, BernardKinch, Wilbur Bruce and Stephen Blackett. Allrounders Greene, JerryKirton and Richard Thornton were all household names of the past.The bowling department is based on mainly fast-medium. The Kirtonbrothers, Jerry and Levere, along with Greene and Thornton, will besupported by Litchfield Kirton, who completes a trio of brothers inthe team.MTW have Padmore and other batsmen include veteran Glendon Johnson,Anthony Burrowes, Testa Baker and Philbert Brathwaite. WicketkeeperPeter Blackman completes a reasonable batting line-up.Fast bowlers Peter Francis and Charles Ramsay will share the new ball,with support coming from Winston Gittens, Mark Bailey and left-armspinner Denis Payne can also do the job.It promises to be a big job, but as we have seen in the past Oh howthe mighty have fallen.