ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – It’s all on in the scheduled final round of the 2018-19 West Indies Championship which opens today in Guyana, Antigua and Jamaica.
A crucial victory for front-runners Guyana Jaguars in the previous round against Barbados Pride in a renewal of the longest standing rivalry in the West Indies first-class game has fortified their bid for a record-equalling fifth straight hold on the Headley/Weekes Trophy, the symbol of supremacy in this format.
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The Jags top the table with 136 points – 25.2 points clear of their nearest rivals, Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
With a maximum of 24 points available to each team in every round of matches, plus the Hurricanes still having a game in hand, making it for them potentially 48 points still on the table, the pressure is on for the top two teams to play strongly and collect a huge haul of points in this round to formalise their claims for the Trophy.
Jaguars vs Red Force in Providence, Guyana
The Jaguars will be eyeing revenge, when they face Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the Guyana National Stadium in the one of the two key matches of the round.
Red Force defended home turf stoutly when the two sides met in the sixth round early last month and the Jaguars will be looking to return the favour, as they aim to finish the season strongly and claim the title.
Squads:
JAGUARS (from) – Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Ramaal Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Akshaya Persaud, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Vishaul Singh
Unchanged
RED FORCE (from) – Denesh Ramdin (captain), Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Joshua Da Silva, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Khary Pierre, Jeremy Solozano, Odean Smith, Anderson Phillip, Marlon Richards, Daniel St. Clair, Tion Webster
Unchanged
UMPIRES – Patrick Gustard (Jamaica), Jacqueline Williams (Jamaica)
MATCH REFEREE – Reon King
RESERVE UMPIRE – Nandkumar Shivsankar
Hurricanes vs Volcanoes in North Sound, Antigua
The Hurricanes came from behind and clinch an important victory over Windward Islands Volcanoes in a ding-dong battle in the all-Islands derby in the seventh round of matches last month which marked the return of Dominica to staging first-class matches following the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
But the hosts will be hoping to play from the front and that it can be a far more straightforward contest, and that they can claim a season sweep over their opponents at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in a bid to make a final dash for the title ahead of the Jaguars.
Squads:
HURRICANES (from) – Kieran Powell (captain), Sheno Berridge, Quinton Boatswain, Nelson Bolan, Keacy Carty, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Montcin Hodge, Damion Jacobs, Alzarri Joseph, Jaison Peters, Devon Thomas, Terance Warde
IN–Joseph; OUT–Kian Pemberton
VOLCANOES (from) – Sunil Ambris (captain), Alick Athanaze, Audy Alexander, Roland Cato, Larry Edward, Tarryck Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Ray Jordan, Kimani Melius, Denis Smith, Devon Smith, Emmanuel Stewart, Josh Thomas
IN–Alexander; OUT–Obed McCoy
UMPIRES – Christopher Taylor (Jamaica), Mark Hawthorne (Ireland)
MATCH REFEREE – Vanroy Burnes
RESERVE UMPIRE – Bernard Joseph
Scorpions vs Pride in Kingston, Jamaica
As two of the four sides in the Championship with two outstanding games, both Jamaica Scorpions and Barbados Pride still have plenty for which to play in their contest at Sabina Park, though it will have no significant bearing on the title chase.
Both teams are a shadow of what they used to be previously, but they can both pursue a strong finish to the season and target higher placings on the Championship table.
Squads:
SCORPIONS (from) – Paul Palmer (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Dennis Bulli, Akim Fraser, Assad Fudadin, Garth Garvey, Nicholson Gordon, Derval Green, Brandon King, Kennar Lewis, Nikita Miller, Jerome Taylor
IN–Bonner, Garvey, Gordon, Taylor; OUT–Gordon Bryan, Reynard Leveridge, Alwyn Williams, Oraine Williams
PRIDE (from) – Shamarh Brooks (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Keon Harding, Chemar Holder, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Shamar Springer, Tevyn Walcott, Jomel Warrican
IN–Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich, Holder; OUT–Rashidi Boucher, Chaim Holder, Aaron Jones, Nicholas Kirton
UMPIRES – Verdayne Smith, Deighton Butler (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)
MATCH REFEREE – Denovan Hayles
RESERVE UMPIRE – Christopher Wright
-ENDS-
OFFICIAL POINTS STANDINGS
Following are the Official Points Standings in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the ninth 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 | P | W | L | D | T | NR | DP | MR | BAT | BOWL | PB |
| 1. Guyana Jaguars | 136 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 27 | 22 |
| 2. Leewards Hurricanes | 110.8 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 23 | 11.8 |
| 3. Barbados Pride | 96 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 21 | 16 |
| 4. Windwards Volcanoes | 86 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 26 | 14 |
| 5. T&T Red Force | 85.6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 | 11.6 |
| 6. Jamaica Scorpions | 82.4 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 23 | 13.4 |
TOP PERFORMERS
Following are the lists of the most prolific batsmen and most successful bowlers in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the eighth 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. Devon Smith (Volcanoes) | 8 | 16 | 1 | 713 | 199 | 47.53 | 2 | 1 |
| 2. Montcin Hodge (Hurricanes) | 8 | 16 | 1 | 641 | 158 | 42.73 | 2 | 4 |
| 3. Jonathan Carter (Pride) | 8 | 16 | 2 | 580 | 149* | 41.42 | 1 | 4 |
| 4. Anthony Bramble (Jaguars) | 9 | 12 | 2 | 498 | 168 | 49.80 | 2 | 0 |
| 5. Keacy Carty (Hurricanes) | 8 | 16 | 0 | 498 | 114 | 31.12 | 1 | 3 |
| BOWLERS | M | O | R | W | BB | AVG | 5w | 10w |
| 1. Rahkeem Cornwall (Hurricanes) | 7 | 301.2 | 772 | 49 | 6-57 | 15.75 | 3 | 1 |
| 2. Veerasammy Permaul (Jaguars) | 9 | 317 | 834 | 39 | 5-57 | 21.38 | 1 | 0 |
| 3. Imran Khan (Red Force) | 8 | 273.4 | 799 | 36 | 7-47 | 22.19 | 4 | 2 |
| 4. Nikita Miller (Scorpions) | 4 | 238.5 | 537 | 35 | 7-50 | 15.34 | 4 | 3 |
| 5. Romario Shepherd (Jaguars) | 9 | 231.2 | 669 | 29 | 4-36 | 23.06 | 0 | 0 |
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
ROUND 6
Thursday, January 31 to Sunday, February 3
Hurricanes lost to Scorpions by 1 wicket – Warner Park, St. Kitts
Red Force beat Jaguars by 93 runs – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
Pride lost to Volcanoes by 8 wickets – Kensington Oval
ROUND 7
Thursday, February 7 to Sunday, February 10
Jaguars beat Scorpions by 7 wickets – Guyana National Stadium
Pride beat Red Force by 4 wickets – Kensington Oval
Volcanoes lost to Hurricanes by 12 runs – Windsor Park, Dominica
ROUND 8
Thursday, February 21 to Sunday, February 24
Hurricanes drew with Red Force – Warner Park
Scorpions beat Jaguars by 8 wickets – Sabina Park
Volcanoes lost to Pride by 23 runs – Arnos Vale Sports Complex, St. Vincent
ROUND 9
Thursday, February 28 to Sunday, March 3
Scorpions lost to Hurricanes by 134 runs – Sabina Park
Jaguars beat Pride by 7 wickets – Guyana National Stadium
Volcanoes lost to Red Force by 190 runs – Arnos Vale Sports Complex
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 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