ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The return of international fast bowler Ravi Rampaul will be one of the highlights when the West Indies Championship resumes from a recess with the sixth round of matches beginning tomorrow.
Though interests will be divided, due to the crucial second Test between WINDIES and England, also starting tomorrow at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here, the return of the 34-year-old Rampaul to Trinidad & Tobago Red Force line-up for the first time in almost six years will capture some of the attention.
Rampaul has been playing in the English County Championship for the last three seasons and he has been brought back in a bid for the Red Force to slow down front-runners and four-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars in their match at Queen’s Park Oval.
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At the same time – Leeward Islands Hurricanes will be hoping to keep in step with the Jaguars, when they meet Jamaica Scorpions at Warner Park.
And, Barbados Pride host a Windward Islands Volcanoes side led by their former captain Kirk Edwards at Kensington Oval.
Red Force vs Jaguars in Port of Spain, Trinidad
Red Force will be hoping that the return of Rampaul and the appointment of former WINDIES fast bowler Mervyn Dillon to the head coaching job, replacing former national all-rounder Kelvin Williams, will transform their fortunes, following a three-day defeat against Pride in the previous round on home soil – at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in south Trinidad.
The hosts will need for the combination of Rampaul’s skill and Dillon’s knowledge to give them a further edge against a Jaguars side that may be a bit vulnerable following their first loss in two years in the previous round against the Hurricanes.
It’s the Red Force batting however, that will have to show significant improvement for them to be able to slow the charge of the Jaguars, but no significant changes to personnel have taken place there.
History strongly favours Jaguars domination, as they have won all but one of the eight contests in the Professional Cricket League franchise era of the Championship over the last five years.
Squads:
RED FORCE (from) – Denesh Ramdin (captain), Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Joshua Da Silva, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Jeremy Solozano, Odean Smith, Anderson Phillip, Daniel St. Clair, Tion Webster
IN–Charles, Rampaul, Webster; OUT– Kyle Hope, Jon-Russ Jagessar, Amir Jangoo
JAGUARS (from) – Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Keon Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Clinton Pestano, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
IN–Hemraj, Reifer; OUT–Trevon Griffith, Devendra Bishoo
UMPIRES – Zahid Bassarath, Jacqueline Williams (Jamaica)
MATCH REFEREE – Hayden Bruce
RESERVE UMPIRE – Kashif Sandy
Hurricanes vs Scorpions in Basseterre, St. Kitts
Both teams enter this match with their confidence soaring high following important victories in the previous round.
Hurricanes became the first side in almost two seasons to stop the rampaging Jaguars and Scorpions emerged from three straight losses and collected their first victory of the season over Volcanoes.
Both sides however, will indicate there are still areas for concern, mainly in the batting, but the Hurricanes seem to hold the edge considering they were made to chase close to 300 to win on a last-day pitch at the Guyana National Stadium last round.
The head-to-head battles between these two sides have been topsy-turvy during the PCL years with the Scorpions holding the edge, winning five and losing three.
Squads:
HURRICANES (from) – Kieran Powell (captain), Sheno Berridge, Nelson Bolan, Keacy Carty, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Montcin Hodge, Damion Jacobs, Jeremiah Louis, Jaison Peters, Ross Powell, Devon Thomas, Terance Warde
IN–Hamilton, Thomas; OUT–Orlando Peters, Akeem Saunders
SCORPIONS (from) – Paul Palmer (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Dennis Bulli, Assad Fudadin, Derval Green, Brandon King, Reynard Leveridge, Rovman Powell, Jerome Taylor, Aldaine Thomas, Chadwick Walton, Kenroy Williams, Oraine Williams
IN–Blackwood, Powell; OUT–Jermaine Levy, Andre McCarthy
UMPIRES – Carl Tuckett (Nevis), Joel Wilson (Trinidad & Tobago)
MATCH REFEREE – Stewart Rawlins
RESERVE UMPIRE – Lyndon Rajkumar
Pride vs Volcanoes in Bridgetown, Barbados
The 34-year-old, Barbados-born Edwards has plied his trade for Scorpions and Volcanoes over the previous three seasons, and he will see his elevation to the position of captain of the visitors as a feather in his cap, so returning and facing old teammates will spur him to a special performance to earn bragging rights.
But winning inside three days against Red Force will be a big boost of confidence for the Pride and Edwards will have to pick his side up following their defeat against the Scorpions on home soil in previous round.
Pride’s bowling, which featured heavily in that win, has been fortified with the return of Miguel Cummins and Chemar Holder to the squad following their appearance for the CWI President’s XI against the visiting England Test squad.
The home team is also likely to face a trial by pace as the Volcanoes have added experienced left-arm pacer Delorn Johnson to a line-up that already features WINDIES pacer Shermon Lewis along with rookies Josh Thomas, Ray Jordan and Obed McCoy.
Pride hold the edge in contests between the two sides in the PCL era though, winning five of the eight matches, of which the other three have ended in draws.
Squads:
PRIDE (from) – Jonathan Carter (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Miguel Cummins, Chemar Holder, Aaron Jones, Nicholas Kirton, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Ashley Nurse, Shamar Springer, Kevin Stoute, Tevyn Walcott, Hayden Walsh Jr
IN–Cummins, Holder; OUT–Justin Greaves, Keon Harding
VOLCANOES (from) – Kirk Edwards (captain), Alick Athanaze, Roland Cato, Larry Edward, Tarryck Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Delorn Johnson, Ray Jordan, Shermon Lewis, Obed McCoy, Denis Smith, Devon Smith, Josh Thomas
IN–Johnson; OUT–Audy Alexander
UMPIRES – Leslie Reifer Jr, Danesh Ramdhanie (Trinidad & Tobago)
MATCH REFEREE – Stephen Proverbs
RESERVE UMPIRE – Kevin Sisnett
-ENDS-
OFFICIAL POINTS STANDINGS
Following are the Official Points Standings in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the fifth round of matches.
Abbreviations: PTS-total points, M-matches, W-won, L-lost, D-drawn, T-tied, NR-no result, DP-Abandoned match due to dangerous pitch, MR-match referee awarding match, BAT-batting points, BOWL-bowling points, PB-pace bowling points
| FRANCHISES | PTS | M | W | L | D | T | NR | DP | MR | BAT | BOWL | PB |
| 1. Guyana Jaguars | 85.6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 11.6 |
| 2. Leewards Hurricanes | 59.8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 6.8 |
| 3. Barbados Pride | 49.6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 8.6 |
| 4. Windwards Volcanoes | 48.4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 6.4 |
| 5. T&T Red Force | 33 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
| 6. Jamaica Scorpions | 32.6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 4.6 |
TOP PERFORMERS
Following are the lists of the most prolific batsmen and most successful bowlers in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the fifth round of matches.
Batting tabulated under: M-matches, I-innings, NO-not outs, R-runs, HS-highest scores, AVG-average, 100-hundreds, 50-half-centuries
Bowling tabulated under: M-matches, O-overs, R-runs, W-wickets, BB-best bowling, AVG-average, 5w-five wickets or more in an innings, 10w-10 wickets or more in a match
| BATSMEN | M | I | NO | R | HS | AVG | 100 | 50 |
| 1. Montcin Hodge (Hurricanes) | 4 | 8 | 1 | 470 | 158 | 67.14 | 2 | 2 |
| 2. Kirk Edwards (Volcanoes) | 5 | 10 | 0 | 371 | 139 | 37.10 | 1 | 2 |
| 3. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (Jaguars) | 5 | 10 | 3 | 362 | 117* | 51.71 | 1 | 1 |
| 4. Chadwick Walton (Scorpions) | 4 | 8 | 0 | 359 | 125 | 44.87 | 1 | 2 |
| 5. Anthony Bramble (Jaguars) | 5 | 6 | 1 | 357 | 168 | 71.40 | 2 | 0 |
| BOWLERS | M | O | R | W | BB | AVG | 5w | 10w |
| 1. Veerasammy Permaul (Jaguars) | 5 | 222.5 | 572 | 28 | 5-57 | 20.42 | 1 | 0 |
| 2. Nikita Miller (Scorpions) | 3 | 169.4 | 392 | 24 | 7-87 | 16.33 | 3 | 2 |
| 3. Rahkeem Cornwall (Hurricanes) | 3 | 138.2 | 298 | 22 | 6-70 | 13.54 | 1 | 1 |
| 4. Romario Shepherd (Jaguars) | 5 | 136.4 | 384 | 19 | 4-36 | 20.21 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. Imran Khan (Red Force) | 4 | 151.5 | 398 | 19 | 7-47 | 20.94 | 2 | 1 |
RESULTS OF MATCHES
ROUND 1
Thursday, December 6 to Sunday, December 9
Volcanoes lost to Jaguars by 125 runs – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia
Pride lost to Hurricanes by 34 runs – Three Ws Oval, Barbados
ROUND 2
Thursday, December 13 to Sunday, December 16
Pride beat Scorpions by 41 runs – Three Ws Oval
Hurricanes lost to Jaguars by 9 wickets – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Red Force lost to Volcanoes by 76 runs – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
ROUND 3
Friday, January 4 to Monday, January 7
Scorpions lost to Volcanoes by 5 wickets – Sabina Park, Jamaica
Red Force lost to Hurricanes by 245 runs – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
Pride lost to Jaguars by 6 wickets – Kensington Oval, Barbados
ROUND 4
Thursday, January 10 to Sunday, January 13
Scorpions lost to Red Force by 157 runs – Sabina Park
Jaguars beat Volcanoes by 8 wickets – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
ROUND 5
Thursday, January 17 to Sunday, January 20
Jaguars lost to Hurricanes by 2 wickets – Guyana National Stadium
Red Force lost to Pride by 7 wickets – Brian Lara Cricket Academy
Volcanoes lost to Scorpions by 4 wickets – National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
(All matches start at 10 am daily, except where indicated)
ROUND 1
Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17
Red Force vs Scorpions – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
ROUND 4
Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17
Hurricanes vs Pride – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
ROUND 6
Thursday, January 31 to Sunday, February 3
Hurricanes vs Scorpions – Warner Park, St. Kitts (2 pm start daily)
Red Force vs Jaguars – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
Pride vs Volcanoes – Kensington Oval
ROUND 7
Thursday, February 7 to Sunday, February 10
Jaguars vs Scorpions – Guyana National Stadium
Pride vs Red Force – Kensington Oval
Volcanoes vs Hurricanes – Windsor Park, Dominica
ROUND 8
Thursday, February 21 to Sunday, February 24
Hurricanes vs Red Force – Warner Park
Scorpions vs Jaguars – Sabina Park
Volcanoes vs Pride – Arnos Vale Sports Complex, St. Vincent
ROUND 9
Thursday, February 28 to Sunday, March 3
Scorpions vs Hurricanes – Sabina Park
Jaguars vs Pride – Guyana National Stadium
Volcanoes vs Red Force – Arnos Vale Sports Complex
ROUND 10
Thursday, March 7 to Sunday, March 10
Scorpions vs Pride – Sabina Park
Jaguars vs Red Force – Guyana National Stadium (2 pm start daily)
Hurricanes vs Volcanoes – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground
-CWI