DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Holmwood Technical led three other favoured qualifiers to the semi-finals of the Grace/ISSA rural Knockout Cup on Friday.

Holmwood defeated Port Antonio by 108 runs, traditional rivals St Elizabeth Technical mauled St Mary Technical by 228 runs after scoring 379, Manchester got by Vere by 112 runs while Frome grabbed the other semi-final spot after beating St Thomas Technical.

National player André Creary struck 22 in Holmwood's total of 239 for six and then returned to snare five wickets as Port Antonio folded for 131.

In fact, the losers profited from a reckless start in which the Holmwood team conceded 17 runs in the first over bowled. They reached 51 without loss off five overs before fast bowler Onique Robinson had Derron Crawford caught for 14 to turn the match in the champions' favour. The Portland team continued to play aggressively but lost wickets regularly as Creary was introduced into the attack and they folded in 12 overs despite scoring at a whopping 11 runs per over.

Earlier, Anchard Hamilton continued his consistent run with a top score of 66 and he was well supported by Jermaine Blackwood (40) and Takeem Lowe (29).