ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – There is something extra special about each match in the seventh round of matches in the West Indies Championship, starting tomorrow.

All eyes will be on the key battle between Windward Islands and Leeward Islands, as Windsor Park makes its return to hosting top flight matches, since Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 system, dealt a devastating blow to Dominica on two Septembers ago and the island has been slowly, but surely recovering.

At the same time – leaders and four-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars and Jamaica Scorpions, two teams with the opposite results in their last two matches, look to settle old scores at the Guyana National Stadium.

And, Barbados Pride and Trinidad & Tobago, whose fortunes were vastly different in the previous round, meet for a renewal of the fiercest rivalry in Caribbean sport at Kensington Oval.

 

Volcanoes vs Hurricanes in Roseau, Dominica

Windsor Park sustained limited structural damage during Hurricane Maria, but parts of the perimeter wall crumbled, sheets of galvanized roofing were blown off the pavilion and the stands, and the lighting towers were bent out of shape.

Life has gradually returned to normal in the island and repairs have taken place at the venue, allowing for this weekend’s match to take place there.

Local fans could not have wished for a better contest, as the two sides currently occupy second and third place in the standings, and have shown big improvements over the past seasons when they both languished near or at the bottom.

The two sides should enter the contest confident, although it was the Volcanoes that had a comfortable victory over the Pride, the Hurricanes may still view their narrow defeat at the hands of the Scorpions as something of a win.

Volcanoes will be hoping they can carry the same momentum and performance into this match, but Hurricanes will be looking for their batting to play more of a role, after the bowling held the sway in the previous game.

History favours the Volcanoes: They have won five of the eight matches between the two sides in the Professional Cricket League franchise era over the previous four seasons, including a 2016 contest by 94 runs at this same venue.

Hurricanes have not won a match between the two sides, since they claimed a 30-run victory seven years ago at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua, so this should be added motivation for them.

 

Squads:

VOLCANOES (from) – Kirk Edwards (captain), Sunil Ambris, Alick Athanaze, Roland Cato, Larry Edward, Tarryck Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Delorn Johnson, Ray Jordan, Obed McCoy, Denis Smith, Devon Smith, Josh Thomas

Unchanged

HURRICANES (from) – Kieran Powell (captain), Sheno Berridge, Quinton Boatswain, Nelson Bolan, Keacy Carty, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Montcin Hodge, Damion Jacobs, Kian Pemberton, Jaison Peters, Devon Thomas, Terance Warde

IN–Boatswain, Pemberton; OUT–Orlando Peters, Ross Powell

UMPIRES – Zahid Bassarath (Trinidad & Tobago), Patrick Gustard (Jamaica)

MATCH REFEREE – Reon King (Guyana)

RESERVE UMPIRE – Ericson Degallerie

 

Jaguars vs Scorpions in Providence, Guyana

The Jags have not lost two matches in any of the previous four PCL seasons, so their defeats in their last two matches has been shocking.

Conversely, the Scorpions started the season with three straights losses and have rebounded with two straight wins.

For the Jaguars, they will be looking to restore normal service and fortify their position at the top of the table, and for the Scorpions, they will be hoping to keep the momentum from the previous two matches and cause a real stir in the Championship with another thumping for their hosts.

Recent results strongly favour the Jaguars, as they have won all eight matches between the two sides in the PCL era, but Scorpions will be hoping that the presence of international fast bowler Jerome Taylor can spark something special, like it did in the previous match.

 

Squads:

JAGUARS (from) – Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Keon Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Clinton Pestano, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Vishaul Singh

IN–Joseph; OUT–Keemo Paul

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

Unchanged

UMPIRES – Johnathan Blades (Barbados), Joel Wilson (Trinidad & Tobago)

MATCH REFEREE – Colin Stuart

RESERVE UMPIRE – Javed Persaud

 

Pride vs Red Force in Bridgetown, Barbados

 Neither side needs any extra motivation when they face each other, as players on both sides always go the extra mile to impress.

On this occasion however, the Pride, always tough on home soil, are a little vulnerable after the Volcanoes crushed them in the previous round, at the same time that the Red Force got a big boost of confidence with a victory over the trend-setting Jaguars.

The Pride will feel they have the upper hand however, having dismissed the Red Force in a fifth-round contest on the road only three weeks ago, so they will be looking to complete the season sweep and make it six wins in 10 matches in the PCL era.

Victories for Red Force at this venue are few and far between – even before the franchise era – but they grabbed a stunning 130-run victory in the 2016-17 season and had their hosts under pressure in the corresponding match last season, so this should add to their confidence.

Red Force have received a boost their batting ahead of the game with veteran opener Lendl Simmons returning to the Championship for the first time in just over four years.

 

Squads:

PRIDE (from) – Jonathan Carter (captain), Rashidi Boucher, Miguel Cummins, Jonathan Drakes, Chemar Holder, Aaron Jones, Nicholas Kirton, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Ashley Nurse, Shamar Springer, Kevin Stoute, Tevyn Walcott

IN–Boucher, Drakes; OUT–Anthony Alleyne, Hayden Walsh Jr

RED FORCE (from) – Denesh Ramdin (captain), Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Joshua Da Silva, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Jeremy Solozano, Odean Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daniel St. Clair

IN–Simmons; OUT–Tion Webster

UMPIRES – Leslie Reifer Jr, Verdayne Smith (Jamaica)

MATCH REFEREE – Stephen Proverbs

RESERVE UMPIRE – Ryan Willoughby

 

-ENDS-

 

OFFICIAL POINTS STANDINGS

Following are the Official Points Standings in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the sixth 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	92.2	6	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	11	18	15.2
2. Windwards Volcanoes	69	6	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	8	17	8
3. Leewards Hurricanes	64.4	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	14	7.4
4. Barbados Pride	54.2	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	8	12	10.2
5. Jamaica Scorpions	51.2	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	15	8.2
6. T&T Red Force	50.2	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	14	8.2

 

TOP PERFORMERS

 

Following are the lists of the most prolific batsmen and most successful bowlers in the 2018-19 West Indies Championship after the sixth 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)	5	10	1	555	199	61.66	2	1
2. Montcin Hodge (Hurricanes)	5	10	1	473	158	52.55	2	2
3. Kirk Edwards (Volcanoes)	6	12	1	418	139	38.00	1	2
4. Chadwick Walton (Scorpions)	5	10	0	406	125	40.60	1	2
5. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (Jaguars)	6	12	3	393	117*	43.66	1	1

 

BOWLERS	M	O	R	W	BB	AVG	5w	10w
1. Veerasammy Permaul (Jaguars)	6	249.5	629	29	5-57	21.68	1	0
2. Rahkeem Cornwall (Hurricanes)	4	174.1	403	27	6-70	14.92	1	1
3. Imran Khan (Red Force)	5	165.5	465	25	7-47	18.60	2	1
4. Nikita Miller (Scorpions)	3	169.4	392	24	7-87	16.33	3	2
5. Romario Shepherd (Jaguars)	6	164.4	450	21	4-36	21.42	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

 

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 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