Good weekend for the blues

ROVERS partly erased the memory of that 199-run humiliation against Cobo by recording their first win in this season's Carey Olsen Championship. Seven wickets was a comfortable margin over Randy Paddle Mavericks at KGV, but the losers would have felt they had wasted a good chance to put more pressure on the defending champions.

At 102 for two with 18 overs remaining, Mavericks had laid the base for a challenging total on another good pitch. But top scorer Martin Gray's dismissal, to a smart caught-and-bowled from Aaron Scoones, sparked a cave-in from the middle order and Mavericks were all out in the last over for 161.

Early wickets were a must to put pressure on Rovers and Mavericks got one, as Andre Austin held a remarkable one-handed tumbling catch running backwards at square leg to grab a top edge from Richard Headin-gton.

Quinton Hubbard was never totally assured and eventually holed out at square leg for 15 made in 18 overs, but Scoones, Rovers' most impressive performer with the ball, joined captain Tim Duke and firmly closed the door on any Mavericks hopes of an upset.

The Mavericks attack was dogged, particularly back-up seamer Javan Isabelle, who beat both batsmen off the pitch, but Duke, completely unruffled, just hit the bad ball to the boundary and kept out the good ones.

The two had doubled the score and ensured victory before Scoones was out leg before, and Duke completed an inevitable half century before Richard Hamilton hit the winning runs.

Rovers had also won their Barclays Evening League match against NRG Pessimists on Friday evening, defending 99 in 16 overs.