VANCOUVER (CBC) - Manoj David scored 59 runs, not out, to lead British Columbia to its third straight victory at the national cricket championships on Saturday evening at King City, Ont.

The defending champions took their third match of the day on Saturday by defeating Nova Scotia by 28 runs, 143-2 (20 overs) to 115-5 (20 overs).

"I think we have to be pretty pleased with this," said B.C. team member Geoff Barnett. "The boys bowled really well."

It was the first day of Canadian cricket's new life after a switch to the Twenty20 format, which is sweeping the sport worldwide.

The new style limits each side to 20 overs (120 balls) and puts a 75-minute time limit for each side's inning.

"I played a lot of this format in New Zealand. It's quite an attractive brand of cricket to those who normally wouldn't watch the game," said Barnett, adding that most of the Canadian players liked the switch from the old format.

"I think about 95 per cent prefer this format, especially in Canada where we play an attacking style of cricket anyway."

B.C. leads Group A with a record of 3-0, with Ontario B at 2-1, Alberta at 1-2 and Nova Scotia still winless at 0-3.

On the other side, Harvir Bhaidwan's four overs of bowling saw him allow 11 runs and three wickets taken as the Ontario A squad defeated Saskatchewan by nine wickets to remain undefeated.

Also in Group B action, Quebec improved to 2-1, Manitoba sits at 1-2 and Saskatchewan is 0-3.

In other second-round matches, Rizwan Cheema's three overs of bowling, including two maidens, just five runs allowed and one wicket taken, led Ontario B to a 76-run win over Alberta.

And Asish Patel took four wickets while allowing 14 runs in four overs as Quebec downed Manitoba by seven wickets.

The tournament semis and final will be played on Sunday afternoon.

In afternoon action:

Barnett scored 59 runs, not out, to lead British Columbia past Alberta by nine wickets, 101-for-1 (16.5 overs) to 97-for-8 (20 overs).

Bhaidwan's strong four overs of bowling, including a maiden (six balls, no runs), just five runs allowed and two wickets taken, led Ontario A to its second win, this time sailing by Quebec by nine wickets, 72-1 (15.5 overs) to 71-10 (18.4 overs).

Chris Manohar was 43, not out, to lead Ontario B to an 88-run victory over Nova Scotia, 168-5 (20 overs) to 80-6 (20 overs).

And Qamar Zahah took four wickets while allowing 18 runs in 3.5 overs as Manitoba beat Saskatchewan by five wickets.

In the early games:

Manoj David scored 32 runs at bat and took two for 24 off his four overs as a bowler to lead defending B.C. to a tight win over Ontario B.

Alberta's Zulfiqar Husain scored 42 runs and bowled two wickets for four runs in two overs as his side cruised to an easy victory over the first-time side from Nova Scotia (67-0 in 9.3 overs to 64-10 in 19.2 overs).

Bhaidwan bowled an outstanding 3.5 overs for one maiden, six total runs and a wicket as Ontario A overwhelmed Manitoba by eight wickets.

And Abdul Jabbar scored 57 runs in a big win by Quebec over the other newcomer, Saskatchewan.

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