Devonshire 235

Social Club 119

Teenage all-rounder Derrick Brangman almost single-handedly destroyed Social Club?s Central Counties hopes at Police Field on Saturday.

The 18-year-old Devonshire Recreation Club player blasted 63 runs off 82 balls and then returned to claim three wickets, including the prized scalps of Nakia Smith and Kenny Phillip, to inspire his team to an emphatic 116-run victory over their city rivals during the final round of the 37-year-old competition.

While Devonshire produced a near flawless performance en route to victory, the same could not be said about their opponents who virtually gifted the match to the cup holders from the outset by sending them in to bat on a pitch tailor-made for batting.

A lack of penetrative bowling and application at the crease made matters worse for a Social Club side making their second appearance in three years in the Central Counties final.

Devonshire coach Ricky Brangman sr later attributed his side?s win to teamwork.

?We played together as a team today and this was an all-round good performance,? he told The Royal Gazette. ?We were pretty geared up to play today.?

Brangman said he was surprised when his opponents opted not to bat first after winning the toss on what ultimately proved to be a ?batsman?s paradise?.

?We thought we were going to field. But obviously I guess they had their reasons why,? he added. ?We?ve played on this pitch twice already this season and the wicket is good. It?s a nice wicket to bat on . . . you just have to keep it straight.?

Despite losing opener Ricky Brangman jr (five) in the fourth over with 19 runs on the board, Devonshire?s batsmen were rarely troubled and mostly had things all their way batting on a flat strip offering very little or no assistance to the bowlers.

Any thoughts Social Club might have had of making further inroads quickly evaporated as youngster Derrick Brangman, who raced to a half century off 56 balls in 76 minutes, and veteran opener Wendell Swan (37) steadied the ship and put on 90 for the second wicket in 21 overs before the latter was run out by a direct throw from the covers by Dennis Zuill.

Swan hit two fours and faced 73 balls in 104 minutes.

Brangman soldiered on for another five overs and added 19 for the third wicket with father and Devonshire coach Ricky sr (35) until his robust innings came to a halt when he was caught at long on attempting another boundary.

Brangman smashed eight fours and six in 109 minutes work at the crease.

?Derrick has had a pretty good season,? coach Brangman noted. ?We?ve been working on a few things and so it was always just a matter of time.?

Ricky Brangman sr and Allen Butterfield (32) then kept the scoreboard ticking over via a 53-run fourth-wicket partnership before both batsmen were removed in the 42nd over in the space of seven runs.

Brangman hit one four and a six off 53 balls while Butterfield stroked four fours off 36 balls.

Social Club would strike again five overs later when player/coach Charlie Marshall bowled Devonshire skipper Dean Stephens (five). However, the champions still had one more trick up their sleeves as middle order bats Tori Henry (22) and Ryan Swan (15) produced an unbroken 24-run partnership in three overs to carry their team to a total ? for the loss of only six wickets ? that ultimately proved beyond the challengers? reach.

The larger than life Henry smashed one four and a six off 31 balls while Swan hit one six off ten balls.

Kenny Phillip led the Social Club bowling with two for 58 off ten overs.

Asked to score 4.7 runs per over in reply, Social Club openers Dano Outerbridge (14) and Winston Simmons (13) appeared settled at the crease. But just as they threatened to run away with the show, Simmons, lucky not to have been caught at mid on on the previous ball, gave an easy catch to Allen Butterfield in the same position, attempting to flick a short-pitched delivery from fast bowler Jodi Maronie through mid-wicket.

Before Social Club could figure out what had hit them, Maronie struck another telling blow when he removed Detroy Smith (five) two overs later with the addition of only six runs to the total.

At this juncture Devonshire were well and truly in command, despite a brave fourth-wicket stand of 30 between Dennis Zuill (22) and veteran Charlie Marshall (14) in nine overs.

Any hopes Social Club might have had of salvaging a win went down the drain in the 19th over as Devonshire seamer Dennis Williams collected the big wickets of Charlie and Jemeiko Marshall (0) in the space of three balls.

The senior Marshall was dismissed on the second ball after the first drinks break when Wendell Swan took the first of two comfortable catches fielding at long on and long off. And before the dust had settled cousin Jemeiko was also back in the pavilion after facing only two balls.

?Those two wickets were big . . . getting the wicket of Charlie is always a big wicket,? said coach Brangman. ?And to get him and Jemeiko back-to-back was good.?

At 69 for five, Social Club would dig themselves in a deeper hole by losing two additional wickets in the 24th over as Devonshire moved in for the kill.

And again it would be young Derrick Brangman leading the charge by removing Nakia Smith and Philip in the space of two balls to set himself up for a rare hat-trick.

Brangman later described Phillips? dismissal as crucial. ?Kenny can really hit the ball. And so when he went that?s when I felt we pretty much had this one in the bag,? he said.

Philip departed for a first-ball duck, holing out to Swan who took another comfortable catch at long off off the bowling of Derrick Brangman.

Zuill, who batted resolutely, was finally dismissed in the 28th over after facing 68 balls and hitting three fours. And his dismissal all but signalled the end for Social Club as only tailender Jaymo Durham offered resistance lower down the order.

Durham added 24 runs for the ninth wicket with Jeffrey Tyrell (six) before he became the last Social Club wicket to fall in the 37th over, caught behind by wicketkeeper Ricky Brangman jr.

Durham hit three fours off 37 balls.

Left arm slow bowler Brangman was the pick of the Devonshire bowling with three for 22 off eight overs, while seamers Maronie and Williams each claimed two for 26.