The Florida Cup, New York Independence Cup, the President’s Softball Cup and Prime Minister’s T20 Cup in Guyana were the trophies locked away in the cabinet of the formidable force, Regal Legends, but the one missing, was the Orlando Cup.
However, that is no longer the case, as where they fell short in 2018, they surged back five years later in rampant fashion to claim the elusive title.
The final on Sunday was a rematch of the first preliminary match, with Regal up against Orlando Softball Cup League Legends at Barnett Park.
Asked to bat, Regal racked up their second successive 200-plus score with an imposing 206-3 from their 20 overs, led by Uniss Yusuf and Ramesh Narine, who added 163 for the second wicket after skipper Mohendra Arjune was dismissed in the first over.
Narine of Essequibo blasted four massive sixes and four fours in his 81, while Yusuf made one run less and smacked seven maximums and two fours.
Century-maker in the semi-final and Most Valuable Player, Rudolph Baker, then cracked three fours and a six in a quire-fire 21.
Debo Sawkar took 3-34 from his four overs for the hosts, who entered the final high on confidence after upstaging Regal on the first day.
Orlando, in response, saw a steady fall of wickets and soaring run rate through tight bowling, which derailed their chase.
There was some fight shown by Sham Veerasammy (36), Shaueja Sarran (35), John Sakichand (29*) and Bhim George (24), but they stumbled to 161-9 when the overs expired.
Kemraj Sumair (3-18), backed by David Harper (2-21) and Parsram Persaud (2-43), did the damage with the ball for Regal.
Principal of Regal, Mahendra ‘Anil’ Hardyal, praised his teammates for a “job well done” after they lost the first match.
“We achieved our goal,” he told the players.
Hardyal indicated that next year, they will make a maiden trip to Canada in the quest to cop that title.
Meanwhile, New York Softball Cricket League Masters won the Masters title, while Orlando Softball Cricket League All-Stars won the Open title.
The Masters and Legends champions copped US$3,000 each, while All-Stars were rewarded US$4,000.
Regal will take a trip to New York for Independence Cup from June 30 to July 2, then compete in the Prime Minister’s T20 Cup after the Hero Caribbean Premier League concludes in late September.
