Islanders trying to go one better
St. David's will attempt to part company with their Belco Cup bridesmaid tag once and for all over the holiday weekend as the first title of the 2007 cricket season goes up for grabs.
For the past three years the Islanders have had to settle for second best after losing to Western Stars and current champions Southampton Rangers in the final.
St. David's open their Belco Cup bid today against Social Club at Somerset Cricket Club with a team laden with talent — and one that top all rounder Arthur Pitcher jr. is confident can negotiate the final hurdle and lift the coveted showpiece for the first time in half a decade.
"We are going in quite comfortable with a very strong side and I think we definitely owe our fans a Belco Cup victory. And I just hope the weather holds up," he said.
Overall, St. David's have appeared in five finals and in 2001 and 2002 were crowned champions under then player/coach Clay Smith. But since then their luck in the competition seems to have run dry — although they've managed to advance to the final for the past two years.
Pitcher now hopes he and his team-mates can bring their unwanted losing streak in the final to an abrupt halt this time around.
"I have have never won the Belco Cup as a player and so it would be nice to hold the trophy for the first time," he said. "We are looking to take every trophy there out there this season."
St. David's have had their ranks bolstered by the return of all rounder Lionel Cann who alone is capable of shredding any attack to pieces when on song. But rather than pin their cup hopes on any particular individual the Islanders are instead looking for each team member to pull their own weight.
"We have an all round team and man-for-man I don't think there's any team in Bermuda better than us. We have batsmen right down to number 11 and bowlers such as George O'Brien jr., myself, my brother (Justin Pitcher), Del Hollis and Delyone Borden who are all capable of getting the job done on the day," Pitcher added. He also insists there will be no pressure on his team as they go in search of cup glory over the next two days.
"We don't we have any pressure on us because we don't have the trophy," Pitcher said. "The pressure is always on the team trying to defend the trophy."
Fiery seamer O'Brien is expected to share the new ball along with Pitcher with Del Hollis and Delyone Borden to tend to the team's spin bowling duties.
In openers Fiqre Crockwell and Chris Foggo, the Islanders have arguably the best opening pair in the land at present and also a potentially lethal batting line up that boasts the likes of Pitcher and World Cup trio Cann, OJ Pitcher and Borden.
In today's other semi-final, cup holders Rangers open their defence against Flatts at Lords with the eventual winners of today's two semi-finals advancing to tomorrow's final also to be held at Lords.
There is one Premier Division match slated for today at Wellington Oval where hosts St. George's go in search of a second win of the season against Bermuda's Under-19 national squad who are also coming off defeat in their previous outing.
A full slate of First Division matches has also been scheduled for today with Devonshire hosting Bailey's Bay at Devonshire Recreation Club, Warwick taking on Willow Cuts at Southampton Oval, Somerset Bridge hosting tenants PHC at White Hill Field and Leg Trappers doing battle with Police at Sea Breeze Oval.