A glamorous setting, an exciting new format and a shot of star power, helped the Caribbean Max 60 cricket series launch in style in Grand Cayman this week.
As the Caribbean Tigers – one of five franchise teams assembled in double quick time for this tournament – paraded the trophy around the Jimmy Powell Oval Sunday, any lingering doubts that the island could host a tournament of this magnitude had vanished.
A clinical display of power hitting from Australian short-format specialist Josh Brown, helped the Tigers to a resounding 56 run win over the New York Strikers.
Brown breached the boundary ropes ten times as he smashed 60 off 18 balls, including some giant sixes that had the crowd in the VIP section scrambling for the marginal cover of the sun umbrellas.
The tournament was a triumph too for the Cayman Islands, making its debut as a host nation. The tiny West Bay cricket ground was transformed in the space of a few months into an auditorium for some of the world’s best players in a tournament that was broadcast around the world.
In a fun format where entertainment is valued as highly as results, a mix of all-time greats, seasoned franchise players and a handful of Cayman Islands players – getting their first taste of a pro environment – faced off in quickfire matches throughout the week.
Photo gallery: All the action from Max60 this weekend
In the bleachers, the sound of tumbling dice and sizzling jerk chicken, provided the soundtrack as fans enjoyed cricket in overdrive – thrilling fast bowling, powerful ball striking and some spectacular fielding in quick-fire 90 minute games.
While the slimmed down 60-ball format does provide excitement, it doesn’t always guarantee a close game.
Tigers roar in one-sided final
And so it was in the final, as Brown and fellow Aussie pro Chris Lynn peppered the boundary to propel the Tigers to 125 for 6 in their 10 overs. All the bowlers played their part, but former Sri Lanka captain Suranga Lakmal stood out, taking three wickets in just seven balls as the Strikers were skittled for 69 without completing their overs.
Speaking to the Compass after the match, as fans jostled for autographs, Brown said it was a “special moment” to be crowned player of the tournament and the first champion in a new series.
“It is my first time playing T10 and it feels amazing to win, to be honest,” he said.
The players have stayed at the Hotel Indigo on Seven Mile Beach, and Brown, like several others, says he will be back for a holiday, if not to play more cricket.
“I have absolutely loved it,” he said.
Beaming amid the joyful scenes, as the Tigers celebrated with the trophy, was a familiar face.
For Romeo Dunka, a Cayman Islands construction worker, who trains in the evenings after long days on the job site, it was thrilling to be part of professional set up and to play a key role on his team’s road to victory.
Dunka, who bowled economically when called on and took three sharp catches to win a player of the match award early in the tournament, was savouring the atmosphere as he posed for selfies with friends and fans.
“This is a little piece of history,” he said, reading the inscription on his winner’s medal marked with an ’S1’ to denote that this is the first of what organisers hope will be an ongoing regional series.
“I just can’t find the words to express how I feel,” he said.
‘We’ll be back’
Similar tournaments are planned in Bahamas and Barbados. And Dario Barthley, CEO of organiser BMP Sports, said Max 60 hopes to be back in Cayman as soon as next February.
The make-up of the squads could be slightly different, based on a draft process, but the calibre will be the same.
Having got the first tournament in the books, he said, the aim was now to build on the success and make the next one bigger and better.
There’s support for that from the Cayman Islands government. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan was in attendance on Sunday, and, in a televised pitchside interview, he pledged support for Cayman to be the headquarters of Max 60 as it develops and grows around the region.
“I am so happy everyone is enjoying themselves because the next one is going to be ten times better,” he said.
The speed at which the stadium and the pitch were made ready for this level of cricket was one of the surprises of the tournament.
Cayman Islands Cricket President Courtney Myles acknowledged some scepticism about whether the ambitious event would actually come off.
But he said he had been so impressed with the work done and the transformation of the stadium that he put in a call to Jimmy Powell himself, the ‘founder’ of Cayman cricket and the man for whom the oval is named.
Powell was there to hand over the winners’ trophy to Tigers captain George Munsey, a former Scotland international.
Star quality from Warner and co
Aussie opener David Warner – probably the biggest name in the tournament – ended as top scorer, despite his team’s failure to make the finals.
For a player who has won everything from the World Cup to the Ashes, Warner, at 37, could have been forgiven for taking his foot off the gas in a dead rubber Saturday evening for the Boca Raton Trailblazers.
Instead, he battered a merciless 63 and then took some superb catches in the field to end his first Max 60 campaign with a superb, albeit pyrrhic, victory.
It is not in his nature to play at anything less than full throttle.
“It is always about that passion that I have when I am playing on the field,” he said after the game.
“It doesn’t matter what tournament I am playing in, I am always up and about and after it.”
Carlos Brathwaite, the West Indian fast bowler, who was on the losing side for the New York Strikers in the final, has a similar philosophy.
Brathwaite has had bigger moments than this. He famously struck four successive sixes against England to win the T20 World Cup for West Indies in 2016.
But he hadn’t lost an ounce of intensity, taking his anger out on his helmet, battering it with his bat after a controversial decision on Saturday. He was fired up again Sunday, steaming in at pace and taking a spectacular diving catch off his own bowling in the final.
He told the Compass, “I think it’s imperative that you give 100% each and every time, so it may be more fun off the field, but once we turn up a serious business all the time.”
Foot in the door for Cayman players
For the Cayman Islands players, chances to impress were few and far between.
But there were some impressive cameos and the expansion of short format cricket brings hope that local players could put themselves in the frame for pro careers.
Ramon Sealy, who played for the Grand Cayman Jaguars, said the tournament had been a great experience. He smashed 24 off 17 balls in his first game.
He said fellow Cayman internationals Romeo Dunka and Conroy Wright had also made an impression for their teams.
“It shows me we do have the talent to compete with those at the international level,” he said
“It’s good to get out there and to also be able to mingle with some of the international stars that we’ve seen on TV to kind of get some insight and some knowledge to improve our game here in the Cayman Islands.”
For Dunka, its a chance to put yourself in the shop window.
“It’s streaming everywhere, so it is a chance to get noticed,” he said.
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