ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Leeward Islands Hurricanes are exuding confidence ahead of their fourth round clash in the Regional 4-Day cricket competition against the Windward Islands Volcanoes starting Friday in Dominica.
The squad, which sits third in the standings with 29.4 points, welcomes back West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who is set to make his first tournament appearance.
The Antiguan who is now a contracted player with the WICB, was given time off by the Board to deal with an urgent family matter.
Coach of the Hurricanes, Reginald Benjamin, said every member of the squad has missed the pacer.
“For every fast bowler wicket you get two points and we are kind of lagging behind in that area, so I hope that this can help us going forward,” Benjamin said.
“Last [Tuesday] evening, we met him at [VC Bird International Airport] and it was like he never left and besides the little fun and stuff, we were looking forward to having him. We consider him part of us even though he is with the West Indies as a contracted player now.”
The Hurricanes are returning from a long layoff after their third round match against Trinidad & Tobago was affected by rain only after a few hours of play.
However, Benjamin said they are more than ready for Friday’s start.
“After the Trinidad game, unfortunately, we didn’t get to play but we went back home and we had a two-day practice match, and in the parts that we think we need more work, we put that to task and it turned out very well,” he explained.
“So I think we are ready and as you know, we have Alzarri back with the team now.”
Defending champions Guyana Jaguars lead the standings with 33.6 points with Barbados Pride in second with 33.4 points.
Jamaica Scorpions are fourth with 28.6 points with T&T Red Force in fifth position with 27 points. The Volcanoes sit at the bottom of the standings with 17.6 points.
