INTERNATIONAL Royals 1st XI retained their DFDS Division 1 T20 crown with victory over Old Victorians 2nd XI at Les Quennevais on Sunday.
The Royals 2nd XI also secured the Division 2 35-Over title the day prior with victory over Walkovers Rebels.
The OVs secured their spot in the Division 1 T20 Final with a convincing 23-run win over St Ouen Springfield 2s thanks to a magnificent unbeaten 94 from 53 balls by former captain George Moore.
After losing two early wickets, Moore (right) and Will Hodgson (44) added 97 for the third wicket as they hauled their team up to a competitive 167 for 3.
In reply, Hodgson was excellent this time with ball in hand, picking up the early scalp of Hugo Gomersall before returning to break a crucial partnership and dismiss SOS captain, Toby Thirkettle.
The skipper, alongside Marshall Taylor, had originally helped pull the home side out of a hole early.
After both were dismissed in the 20s, Charlie Best did all he could to keep the game alive with an impressive 28 not out from 15 balls.
But an overall economically efficient innings with the ball from the OVs kept them ahead of the game.
Wickets shared around between Hodgson, Sam Watling (2 for 31), Moore (1 for 12) and Louis Kelly (1 for 24) saw SOS finish just 144 for 6.
Heading into the afternoon’s final, Royals captain Vishal Sancheti led his side out to bat in the hope of defending their crown.
Alongside Talha Nasir, the Royals made a solid start, scoring well off opener Hodgson. But left-arm spinner Louis Kelly made the breakthrough, bowling Nasir for 23.
Key man Abhishek Hongekar strode in at number three and struck two early boundaries, but he too had his stumps rattled by Kelly for just 12.
Georon Claasen also fell cheaply, trapped LBW by Moore, the OVs definitely on top.
Skipper Sancheti found a partner in Nehal Naik however and the pair steadied the ship.
The captain would fall for a well-made 34 from 29 balls, caught off Freddie Harben’s off spin, but Naik continued.
Muhammed Ashraf Palliyarakkan Chalil supported well to finish unbeaten on 17, Naik eventually falling for an excellent 42, bowled by Andy Brown.
Naik’s knock included 4 fours and 2 sixes as his side finished their 20 overs 146 for 6.
Louis Kelly was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 26, the other wickets shared between Moore, Harben and Brown with one run out towards the end.
Playing two games in a day is never easy – as was seen in Saturday’s Premier Final’s Day.
OVs started their reply slowly, full credit to the Royals opening attack of Tejpal Ambekallu (left) and Amin Muhammad.
The latter would make the breakthrough, clean bowling Tom Jewell for just 7. Fellow opener Louis Bell would fall also, struggling to 14 from 23 deliveries before being run out.
George Moore was continuing his excellent form from the semi-final, but he lost Mark Boarer first ball, knicking off a booming drive from Muhammad Palliyarakkan.
Young Freddie Harben stayed with Moore and the pair moved the score along as the tension at Les Quennevais grew. The teenager would fall for 22 though, caught off Nehal Naik’s bowling.
Moore too would eventually fall for 40 from 34 balls, many fearing with him went their chances.
His replacement, Jack Stevens however was full of fire-works and proved exactly what the OVs needed.
He smashed 4 fours on his was to a 12-ball 23, before he was too clean bowled by Naik.
Naik sealed his player of the match performance by removing Sam Watling the next ball also to all but seal the game.
OVs could not muster the boundaries in the closing two overs, and eventually fell 20 runs short, sparking jubilant scenes from the back-to-back champions.
The weekend could not have been sweeter for the International Royals, who’s 2nd XI also celebrated winning the Division 2 35-Over title on Saturday with a 91-run victory over Walkovers Rebels.
After posting a score of 207 all out, thanks to an excellent 56 from Neel Bhushan, they skittled Walkovers Rebels for just 116 to seal the title.
Both Tayyab Ali and skipper Andy Wood picked up excellent figures of 3 for 14 and 3 for 29 respectively in the win.
Royals figurehead, Yezdi Patel, expressed his delight at the weekend: “This was a great weekend for the club as a whole. To seal the Division 1 T20 and Division 2 35-Over titles on the same weekend is a fantastic effort.
“This means we have now won at least one trophy for each of the past five seasons, which is an outstanding effort.
“These matches were very competitive and played in the right spirit and we hope to continue this good run into the remainder of the season.”
