This year’s Serbian T20 Championship started a little later than planned due to the miserable April weather. As in the previous seven seasons, four clubs competed in the elite division: the reigning champion Stari Grad, Sava, Mirijevo and Bodrog.
Heavy weights Stari Grad CC justified their status as favorite, with the other clubs failing to match the experienced and well-lubricated machine that won a fifth consecutive T20. Edward Lee Van Rennen was the key player this season, adding runs on top of his pace bowling prowess. Apart from him, all-rounder Bilal Ahmed, big-hitter Wintley Burton and Haris Dajč, with 12 wickets in four matches, were the backbone of the team.
Captained by the only L2 coach in Serbia, Bogdan Dugić, Sava CC fielded several U16 players from the Belgrade suburb of Padinska Skela, as well as a number of experienced ex-pat players. In particular, Pandey and John were the biggest threat to the opposition with both bat and ball.
Mirijevo failed to deliver once again, due to constant changes in the roster. The best players were Usman Raja and Aleksa Đorović, but the lack of a middle-order caused them to collapse in several matches.
Bodrog also underwent significant changes in the squad and had to rely on exclusively local and U16 players. The captain Ivan Civrić and Adam Balog were the cream of the crop.
Results:
30.04. Mirijevo 38 (Tošić 10, Dajč 3-2, Ahmed 3-3, Reb 2-11) – Stari Grad 39/1 (Didanović 15*, Lazović 6*, Stanić 1-2). Stari Grad won by 9 wickets.
14.05. Stari Grad 141/3 (Van Rennen 57*, Ahmed 47*, Pandey 2-16) – Sava 77 (Apon 14, Kalhara 14, Dajč 5-8, Van Rennen 1-7). Stari Grad won by 64 runs.
21.05. Bodrog 69 (A.Balog 29, Civrić 11, Hasan 2-4, Ahmed 2-14) – Stari Grad 71/3 (Barton 45*, A. Balog 1-11). Stari Grad won by 7 wickets.
21.05. Stari Grad 114/1 (Van Rennen 58*, Ahmed 39*) – Bodrog 18 (Didanović 2-1, Hasan 2-5, Van Rennen 2-9). Stari Grad won by 96 runds.
28.05. Bodrog 33 (Krušković 13, Ninković 2-2, Ranitović 2-4) – Mirijevo 34/0 (Richardson 9*). Mirijevo won by 10 wickets.
28.05. Mirijevo 55/5 (Tošić 12, A.Balog 3-11) – Bodrog 33/6 (Krušković 11, Đokić 2-5, Ninković 1-2). Mirijevo won by 22 runs. *The match was reduced to 12 overs per side.
04.06. Sava 148/7 (Pandey 55, John 54, Milijanović 2-29) – Mirijevo 93/8 (Raja 46*, Đorović 14). Sava won by 55 runs.
11.06. Mirijevo 129/6 (Đorović 41, Raja 29, Tara 21 – Pandey 2-20) – Sava 78 (Kalhara 21, Pandey 15, Tošić 2-10, Matthews 2-25). Mirijevo won by 51 runs.
17.06. Mirijevo 107/5 (Raja 41, Đorović 25, Tošić 12, Van Rennen 3-10) – Stari Grad 108/1 (Barton 68*, Ahmed 20, Van Rennen 11*, Đorović 1-25). Stari Grad won by 9 wickets.
25.06. Sava 91/7 (Pandey 21, Stanojević 15*, Oršoš 3-9, D.Petrović 2-21) – Bodrog 77 (S.Balog 21, Krušković 13, Pandey 3-18, Dugić 2-14). Sava won by 14 runs.
25.06. Bodrog 76 (Civrić 23, D.Petrović 16, Dugić 2-9, Pandey 2-28) – Sava 81/2 (Pandey 55*, Vilimonović 12*, A.Balog 1-2, Oršoš 1-2). Sava won by 8 wickets.
02.07. Stari Grad 203/3 (Ahmed 61, Van Rennen 54*, Ratnayake 23, John 2-38) – Sava 138/7 (John 68, Pandey 13, Noel 13, Dajč 2-13). Stari Grad won by 65 runs.
Final table:
|
|
Club |
Won |
Lost |
Points |
|
1. |
Stari Grad |
6 |
0 |
12 |
|
2. |
Sava |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
3. |
Mirijevo |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
4. |
Bodrog |
0 |
6 |
0 |