The Derrymore Road-based club finished with an unassailable 38 points. Lucas are in second with 34 points, Kensington 32, Kingston 26 and St. Catherine fourth on 25. St. Catherine Cricket Club who have a match in hand against Boys' Town and a disputed game against Portland which will be ruled on today. St. Catherine led Kingston on first innings in their drawn game at Nelson Oval yesterday.
Final scores: Melbourne 168 and 209; Melbourne 347 for six declared and 31 without loss.
Skipper Robert Samuels who resumed on 142 not out went on to score 192 as Melbourne piled up a mammoth score of 347 for six declared, replying to Portland's first innings of 169. Samuels who smashed 20 boundaries and six towering sixes said Melbourne were deserving champions.
``Everyone played their part,'' Samuels said. We batted well and the bowlers also chipped in well.''
Batting a second time after trailing by 179 runs Portland got good contributions from Cecil Lewis 64 and Grafton Clarke 37 who added 110 for the second wicket and Robert Tulloch 38.
Carlton Baugh captured five for 52 off 18 overs to finish with a match-haul of nine for 87, while Dwayne Cooper took two for 28.
At Nelson Oval: St. Catherine gained first innings points from Kingston in a drawn game.
Scores: St. Catherine 371 for seven declared (Tony Powell 152, Tamar Lambert 62, Delroy Taylor 51; Ryan Cunningham five for 51) and 135 for two declared; Kingston 238 and 83 for two.
Resuming at 124 for five with overnight batsman Valentino Ventura on 36, Kingston added a further 114 runs with Ventura unbeaten on 81 (nine fours) and Lloyd Black getting 34. Earlier, Raymond Ferguson made 55, while Oneil Richards finished with five for 95, Ephriam McLeod two for 25 and Audley Sanson two for 49.
Batting a second time, St. Catherine went for quick runs with Delroy Taylor smashing 69 with 11 fours in 83 minutes and Tony Powell 32 not out with four fours and a six before the declaration was made. Kingston, needing 269 runs to win, lost KC schoolboy Kemar Duncan run out for nought to finish with a pair in the match. Raymond Ferguson was unbeaten on 43 and Ventura 21 not out when the match was called off.
Lucas defeated Police by eight wickets. Police 208 (Leonard Coley 54, Rohan Belight 42, Clayton Malcolm 32; Gareth Breese four for 50, Ashuman Kentish four for 64) and 168 (Harold Vassell 31, Everton Tabannah 27; Lucas 267 (Kevin Riley 63, Breese 52 ; Belight five for 107, Dixeth Palmer four for 70) and 113 for two.