The 2025 Meat Masters T20 Veterans Cricket Tournament served up a historic, edge-of-your-seat encounter on Tuesday, May 12, that rewrote the event’s record books. Two competing sides, Millet and Combined Veterans, combined to smash more than 500 runs across the fixture, a new tournament benchmark for total match scoring, played out at the Balata Playing Field where Millet claimed a dominant nine-wicket victory.
It was Combined Veterans that stepped into bat first, putting together a formidable total of 250 runs for the loss of seven wickets by the end of their 20-over allocation. The innings was anchored by a spectacular century from top-order batter Doonath Singh, who notched 118 runs before being dismissed in the 19th over, just three runs short of closing out his team’s innings. Clinton Jn Jacques backed up Singh’s knock with a valuable 78 runs to push the team’s total past the 250 mark. For the Millet bowling unit, the day saw a consistent spread of wickets taken: Avitus James, Aloysius Charles, Kimrol Charles, Xavier Gabriel, Quintin Joseph, and Jona Donovan each claimed one wicket apiece to limit Combined Veterans’ final score.
Chasing a target of 251 runs to win, Millet put on a clinical batting display that saw them cruise past the required total in just 15 overs, losing only one wicket along the way to finish on 251 runs for one wicket. The star of the innings, and ultimately named Man of the Match, was Xavier Gabriel, who hit an unbeaten 145 runs, peppered with consistent boundary clears that kept the run rate far ahead of the required pace. Kimrol Charles contributed 39 runs to the early partnership, while Jona Donovan closed out the innings unbeaten on 41 runs to seal the win.
Tuesday’s fixture is just one of a series of thrilling matches played out this week in the tournament. Earlier in the same week, the Balata Crusaders secured a 63-run victory over Labayee. Batting first, Balata posted 200 runs for eight wickets, with Noel Gaspard top-scoring with 59 runs. In response, Labayee could only manage 137 runs all out, with Julius Simon’s 48 runs the highest contribution for the losing side. In another earlier fixture, Babonneau Minibus pulled off a 46-run upset win over Combined Veterans. Babonneau Minibus posted 252 runs for three wickets, with Mario Gittens, Shem Alexander, and Alvin Lafeuille all notching half-centuries to build the match-winning total.
For Millet, Tuesday’s win marks their second victory of the tournament, putting the side in a strong position in the group standings. The team kicked off their tournament campaign last week with a convincing seven-wicket win over United Raiders. United Raiders posted 142 runs for six wickets after batting first, but Millet chased down the target in just nine overs, losing only three wickets in the process, with Xavier Gabriel once again delivering a standout performance, scoring 79 runs to lead the chase.