Isle of Man Cricket Association’s T20 Cain Tournament kicked off in earnest this week with a head-to head-between last summer’s top two teams.

Crosby put down an early marker by defeating the 2021 champions Peel and St John’s at Mullen-e-Cloie in a one-sided affair. After winning the toss and electing to field, Crosby bowled PSJ out for only 76 runs. Ed Walker was the pick of the away side’s bowlers with four wickets, while the Burrows brothers Joe and Tom picked up three each.

Ollie Webster’s quickfire 25 from only 19 balls was the only significant contribution from the home side. In response, Crosby eclipsed the PSJ total with almost six overs to spare for a seven-wicket win, with captain Richard Tarr top scoring with 27.

Valkyres enjoyed a comfortable win against Ramsey at the Grammar School. After winning the toss and batting, Valkyres reached 109 from their 20 overs but, despite a solid opening partnership of 41 between openers Luke Ward and Rob Webber in reply, the home side fell away when they were both out and eventually finished 32 runs short.

Castletown got their season off to a good start with a home win against Finch Hill. Opener Ryan Burns posted a solid 22 from 19 balls, although wickets fell regularly at the other end until Captain Jaco Jansen came to the crease. His decisive half-century from only 36 balls saw Castletown post a challenging 165 to win. FH started well with opener Sam Barnett hitting 26, but Nick Hatton took three wickets in his four-over spell and the Finch Hill reply effectively ended when wicketkeeper Christian Webster was bowled by debutant Ned Crellin for 49.

In Forrester Division One, there were wins for two third team outfits. Peel and St John’s beat Cronkbourne thanks to Fred Atherton’s half-century, while Crosby came through against Ramsey’s with a half-century from Floris Venter.

In Monday night’s Forrester game, Crosby’s second string outfit beat Valkyres.

Attention now switches to the longer form league matches with the opening round of games in cricket’s Premier League this Saturday.

Finch Hill travel to Castletown while Ramsey host Valkyres and the game of the weekend sees defending champions Crosby travel to last season’s runners-up Peel.

SIMON CRELLIN