JERSEY champions Sporting Club and Romerils and Guernsey champs Rovers and Optimists recorded opening wins in the KPMG CI Club Championship on Saturday.
All four teams won home games with Sporting Club and Romerils notching up a maximum 40 points apiece after defeating Wanderers and Cobo respectively.
Sporting Club raced to a ten-wicket victory against Wanderers, Sarnian champions a year ago, at Grainville.
Skipper Matt Hague turned in a man-of-the-match performance taking six wickets and then chipping in with an undefeated 40.
Hague said: ‘It was good to get back to winning ways after last week’s league defeat.
It was the earliest finish I can remember, we started at 10.45 am and were finished just after 2 o’clock.
‘Wanderers will have been disappointed with their batting, however Mark Reynolds turned the ball well while I was able to move it away and they edged several catches to our slip fielders.
‘Getting maximum points is a great start to the championship for us.’ Romerils’ 242 in 45 overs was a stiff target for Cobo to chase.
Peter Scott batted well hitting seven boundaries to finish undefeated on 90 for the winners.
Opener Mark Oliver was looking dangerous on 67 (including four 6s) in Cobo’s reply before he was brilliantly caught close in by Neil Crowell.
The dismissal swung the match Romerils’ way and Shaun Billson helped himself to four wickets towards the end.
St Ouen and OVs both failed to recover after losing early wickets.
St Ouen, struggling on 67 for 8, were eventually all out for 149 in 40 of their allotted 45 overs.
Rovers reached their target in the 31st over for the loss of just two wickets.
It was a similar story for the OVs.
Reduced to 28 for 5 they eventually posted 161 only for Optimists to reach their target, again for the loss of just two wickets, in the 39th over.
The next round of CI Championship round-robin group matches will be played on Saturday 14 August.
Article posted on 26th July, 2004 - 12.00am
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