Champions face immediate start to defence
Willow Cuts or Southampton Rangers will be crowned Twenty20 champions on Saturday, and then immediately open the defence of their title the next day as the cricket season kicks off with four Twenty20 double-headers.
In fact, T20 matches will occupy the opening weeks of the season, up to the final on June 6, although last season’s champions need to be determined first between Cuts and Rangers at Somerset Cricket Club.
Last season’s final was called off for safety reasons because of a shooting incident on South Shore Road, Southampton, hours after the completion of the two semi-finals last September in St David’s. Lindo’s are no longer sponsoring the tournament.
Both clubs will be missing key players with Cuts having lost players in the recent transfer window such as captain Malachi Jones, Chris Douglas, Ricardo Brangman and Chris Foggo, while Rangers are without captain Janeiro Tucker and Dion Stovell who are in Indianapolis with the Bermuda team for the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament.
New signing Hasan Durham is also overseas, in Hawaii with the Bermuda Masters team. Somerset and St David’s will also be without important players on Sunday when they play back-to-back matches as the battle to be crowned champions begins with two games at four different venues: Somerset, St David’s, Devonshire Recreation Club and Southampton Oval.
The tournament will have separate titles for Premier and First Division teams.
Somerset will play two matches against Cleveland and Rangers while St David’s play Cuts and Flatts at Lord’s. Devonshire Recreation Club meet Western Stars and PHC and Warwick play Somerset Bridge and St George’s at Southampton Oval.
The Bermuda Cricket Board released the schedule for the T20 matches yesterday, with the Premier Division to start on May 31.
Following a number of meetings with clubs, captains and coaches, the BCB Cricket Committee have made some changes to domestic competitions, including reverting the Belco Cup back to four teams and creating a separate T20 competition for the Premier and First Division.
Saturday
2014 T20 final: Willow Cuts v Southampton Rangers (Somerset CC, 11am)
Logic First Division: Warwick v National U-18s (Southampton Oval)
Sunday
2015 T20: Somerset v Cleveland (Somerset CC, 11am); Somerset v Southampton Rangers (Somerset CC, 3pm); St David’s v Willow Cuts (St David’s, 11am); St David’s v Flatts (St David’s, 3pm); Devonshire Rec v Western Stars (Devonshire, 11am); Devonshire Rec v PHC (Devonshire, 3pm); Warwick v Somerset Bridge (Southampton Oval, 11am); Warwick v St George’s (Southampton Oval, 3pm).
