The MCA Summer League resumed on Saturday with a clash between the two top teams in the standings – Marsa and Melita.
The match did not live up to its billing however as Marsa were in dominant mood to secure victory and the tournament honours.
Melita batted first and soon they were in deep trouble after losing their openers for five runs.
Both Melita men were captured by Tony Azzopardi.
Matt McKeogh set about trying to restore some stability in the line-up but he became Frank Spiteri’s first wicket of three on the day, having made 21 runs.
Chris Riordan added 13 as Andy Naudi was Melita’s only hope after scoring 41 from 30 balls. His tally included four fours and a six.
Melita’s tail-enders then fell apart and the team was bowled out for 107 runs.
For Marsa, the other wicket takers were Ronnie Sacco, with three, and Waseem Abbas who claimed two.
The Marsa reply never met a hitch and went untroubled.
Frank Spiteri opened and made 33 runs before being lbw. Zubair Raja added seven and Haroon Majeed 28. Ronnie Sacco (21) and Waseem Abbas (16) then saw the Marsa team to victory.
With four tournament matches still to be played, Marsa are already sure of winning the title.
In fact, they have opened an unassailable lead at the top of the standings having won all their matches so far.
Last week, Marsa CC played the third game in the series against Australia’s Cricketers Club of New South Wales. The locals won the opening two games and were after a series whitewash at the oval.
NSW batted first and totalled a reasonable score of 171 runs from their 40 overs thanks to the contributions of M. Gale (50), G. Brooks (32) and L. Neil (30).
Fine bowling from C. Palmer (three wickets), S. McCullum (two), D. Burns (two) and a wicket each for G. Brooks, L. Neil and A. Brooks demolished the locals who were bowled out for 119 runs.
Nowell Khosla stood out by making 44 runs while Sean Byrne chipped in with a 20 but it was NSW who ended their tour on a better note.
The Summer League continues on Saturday with the match bet-ween Krishna and Overseas.