The first annual Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Red Stripe Twenty20 Cricket Knockout Championship ended two weeks ago.

However, up until today it is still on the lips of many players, officials and cricket fans, both in the city and rural parts of the country.

The championship, which was sponsored to the tune to $10 million by beverage giants Red Stripe, saw 32 teams competing with perennial powerhouse St Catherine Cricket Club, the Saints, marching to victory in the grand final, which was held to a decent-sized audience at Sabina Park.

The Saints, who were earlier in the year dethroned of the two-day JCA Super Cricket League title by Manchester Lions, came back to snatch the title from Manchester in a close final, which was won in the final over.

Manchester first made a competitive 141-9 from their mandatory 20 overs and St Catherine eventually reached their target at 142-8 with five balls to spare.

Leading the charge for the Ephraim McLeod-coached St Catherine were the Morgan brothers, Wayne and Dean, stand-in captain Danza Hyatt and leg-spinner Odean Brown. Battling well in a losing cause were Manchester's Krishmar Santokie and captain Gary Graham.

Wayne who, like his brother, has in the past been invited to national trials, bowled controlled and accurate medium pace to claim 2-21 off his allotted four overs, including the final and what turned out to be a decisive over, in which he took two wickets and slowed Manchester's momentum.

Dean, on the other hand, who made a less than run-a-ball 20, including two match-turning and crowd-pleasing sixes, batted with confidence at the death after his team had succumbed to the pressure of Santokie, who ended as the competition's leading wicket taker.

determination

In fact, had it not been for the determination of Dean and Brown's huge six over the media box off the final ball of the penultimate over, surprisingly bowled by pacer Dwight Stewart after it was the spinners who brought back Manchester in the game, it would have been interesting to see who would have walked away with the $500,000 first prize tag and champion's purse worth approximately $1 million.

Teams had also received money for every match they won throughout the championship.

"After losing the two-day title the intention was to come back and win the Twenty20 knockout. Thanks to the players we were able to pull it off," said a delighted Hyatt, who was swarmed by fans and supporters after the game.

Leading up to the final, the competition was played over five rounds at five venues across the country.

double-headers

The first round was held in Kingston and St Andrew at Up Park Camp and St Ann Bauxite Oval, formerly Kaiser; the second at St Catherine's Chedwin Park and at St Ann Bauxite, the quarter-finals at Alpart Sports Club, St Elizabeth; and the semi-finals and final at Sabina Park.

Each venue hosted double headers, which began at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and, as a result, attracted uncharacteristic large turnouts for local cricket games.

The competition also saw, for the first time, a number of upsets with a number of small and unheralded teams registering wins over established and traditional clubs, thus giving credence to the widely held notion that Twenty20 cricket levels the playing field and give smaller teams the opportunity to express their talent.

The biggest news prior to the semi-final and final was the progress of Hanover Dolphins, who made it to the semi-finals where they were defeated by the eventual champions; and traditional Cinderella team, Kingston and St Andrew Titans, who made shot into the quarter-finals after victories over the Jamaica Defence Force Brigades and Jamaica Masters Panthers.

A competition that was long overdue after the Twenty20 concept was introduced in England in 2003 as a means of making the sport more spectator and TV-friendly, and copied all over the world by Test cricket nations, including in the West Indies via the embattled businessman, Allen Stanford, by all accounts, it was a welcome addition to the local cricket calendar.

And with Red Stripe three-years ponsorship for, with a little tweak here and there to the structure, one can only look forward to years two and three.