Returning to the SDC National T20 Community Cricket finals after three years is Fairfield United. The team led by Captain Brian Clarke took home an effortless win against Westmoreland-based, Whitehouse in the first match of the semi-finals held on Sunday, August 20, at Ultimate Oval.
The 102 to 98 victory was sweet for the Fairfield team who travelled from Manchester to be in St Ann for the first cricket game of the day.
“I feel extremely elated, I think the team came out and really executed our plans and as such I feel really good about that.”
No strangers to the SDC National T20 Community Cricket champion title, Clarke conveyed the uniqueness of the semi-final win.
“We actually won the competition in 2021, so this is the second time [we have made it to the semis] in three years so that makes this even more memorable,” Clarke added.
In preparing to leave their mark on the field, team Fairfield United relied heavily on communication.
“It’s a lot of hard work, we have a good programme going in Fairfield, we have a lot of youngsters, we have a lot of senior players and I think what we do well is we really communicate well with each and every one. We communicate our plan and we just live good as a family, we really play as a team so I think that is our biggest strength.”
Grateful for the platform to showcase his love for cricket, Clarke commended the programme’s sponsors.
“I really want to big up J Wray & Nephew, whenever we want to celebrate we go to Wray & Nephew and we really appreciate the brand. I think this competition with Wray & Nephew in partnership with SDC is really a catalyst on the island. It really makes the other national competitions look small in a lot of cases as it reaches all the parishes and as such it’s really a good thing so continue your partnership and your support,” Clarke said.
For the second match of the day, Junction Bull Savannah beat St Ann’s home team Links United to a nail-biting finish scoring 98 to Links United’s’ 96. Proud to captain the St. Elizabeth team into the finals despite the odds Damion Ebanks detailed his team’s preparation.
“I think the teams we played against at the start of the competition even in the quarter-final round, it wasn’t easy for us, every game was a challenge. But that brought the fight and the guts out of my team. Coming here today and playing in the semi-finals shows the way that we’ve been playing from the start of the season.”
Having met and played Fairfield United in the quarter-final games Ebanks anticipates a heated final between the teams on Sunday.
“We played in the quarter-final round in the parish stages, and we beat them. I think they are looking to come back at us very strong but it’s just cricket, we’ll take it step by step. We are not planning ahead of ourselves so when Sunday comes, we’ll see what is there to offer,” Ebanks declared.
With the winners of the semi-finals declared, all roads lead to Noranda, Discovery Bay, St. Ann for the SDC National T20 Community Cricket finals on Sunday, August 27, 2023. The event’s usual fanfare will end in a live performance by Munga Honorable.
