Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the match schedule and venues for the final three rounds of the West Indies Championship, the region’s first-class four-day red ball tournament, which will be played in Trinidad and Guyana.
Two rounds have been played so far and the tournament will resume on 15 to 18 March with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force hosting current West Indies Championship leaders, Guyana Harpy Eagles at Brian Lara Cricket Academy. The other two matches in the third round will see Leeward Islands Hurricanes face Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval inTrinidad and the Jamaica Scorpions facing Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Guyana National Stadium.
The fourth round will be played from 22 to 25 March with the fifth and final round from 29 March to 1 April.
“The first two rounds of matches last month offered great excitement and we are delighted to see the resumption of the West Indies Championship. Based on what we saw in the first phase of matches, we can expect more keen competition among the six teams as they vie for the prestigious Headley/Weekes Trophy," said Roland Holder, CWI’s Manager of Cricket Operations. "There is a lot to play for as players also have the opportunity to compete for places in the Headley/Weekes Series which will follow at the end of the West Indies Championship and prepare to compete for spots on the international stage.”
Heading into the third round, Guyana Harpy Eagles lead the points table after being unbeaten in their two matches to date with defending champions Barbados Pride in second.
The new Headley Weekes Series will follow the West Indies Championship and will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will select from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.
Team Headley and Team Weekes are named in honour of West Indies pioneers and legendary batting greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes, whose names are also honoured on the Trophy for the winners of the West Indies Championship. All three matches will be played from 18 April to 6 May at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua.
RESULTS
ROUND 1
31 January to 3 February
Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force
1 to 4 February
Guyana Harpy Eagles beat Barbados Pride by 183 runs
Leeward Islands Hurricanes drew with Jamaica Scorpions
ROUND 2
8 to 11 February
Barbados Pride beat Jamaica Scorpions by 6 wickets
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force drew with Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Guyana Harpy Eagles
FULL MATCH SCHEDULE
GNS – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
BLCA – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
QPO – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
ROUND 3: 15 to 18 March
Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride at QPO
ROUND 4: 22 to 25 March
Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride at QPO
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA
ROUND 5: 29 March to 1 April
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA
Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO
Headley Weekes Tri-Series
All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua
Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy
Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy
Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley
-ENDS-
Royals condemn Patriots to fourth defeat with thrilling two-wicket win at Warner Park
Nyeem Young kept his composure at the death as Barbados Royals broke the hearts of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots with a thrilling two-wicket victory in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The Royals appeared set for a crushing win when they reduced the Patriots to 0/3 before weathering a rapid 82-run partnership between Wanindu Hasaranga and Mikyle Louis.
After restricting the Patriots to 153/8 at Warner Park, the Royals lost Rahkeem Cornwall and Quinton de Kock early and the match was at a knife’s edge throughout a nerve-jangling chase.
Needing eight runs off the last over bowled by Ryan John, the Royals’ nerves heightened when Jason Holder fell off the first ball after a superb catch at deep backward square by Josh Clarkson.
But Young luckily inside edged to the boundary off the third ball before smashing a brilliant six over mid-off on the penultimate delivery as the Royals won consecutive games to start the season
It was their fifth straight victory against the Patriots, who are at the foot of the table with just one win.
The Patriots made a poor start after being sent in to bat when their top three batters were dismissed for ducks—the first time that has occurred in CPL history.
Spinner Maheesh Theekshana started the carnage on the second ball of the innings when he pinned Evin Lewis lbw. Two balls later, Theekshana produced a cracking delivery that spun sharply and through the defences of Kyle Mayers, who trudged off in disbelief.
The Patriots lost their third wicket when Andre Fletcher was lbw to Dunith Wellalage before the match suddenly flipped through a counterattack from Hasaranga and Louis as the Royals suddenly struggled for control amid an onslaught.
Naveen-ul-Haq was on the receiving end and leaked 16 runs to cap a madcap PowerPlay.
But Louis holed out in the ninth over leading to another collapse where the Patriots also lost Sherfane Rutherford and Hasaranga in the space of six balls.
It could have been worse for the Patriots when Clarkson was given out lbw to Theekshana before he successfully reviewed. Clarkson struggled to get going, but batted through to the end and received support from John who smacked 29 off 14 balls.
Just like the Patriots, the Royals lost a wicket on the second ball after Mayers knocked over Cornwall for a duck. Speedster Anrich Nortje had compatriot de Kock wincing in pain after a blow to the body before the batter hit back with a six over fine leg.
De Kock was cleaned bowled in the fifth over by Mayers, who had patiently persisted around the wicket.
Wellalage battled calmly through the middle overs before Young’s late heroics sealed a thrilling triumph for the Royals.
Moeen Ali joins Guyana Amazon Warriors
Former England captain Moeen will be joining the defending champions, replacing Pakistan batsman Saim Ayub who is unavailable.
The batting all-rounder’s availability is dependent on his team’s progression in T20 Blast in the UK.
In the interim, New Zealand’s Tim Robinson has been selected as a temporary replacement for Moeen. When Moeen arrives, the 22-year-old Robinson will remain with the Warriors to act as a temporary replacement for Rahmaullah Gurbaz.
Afghanistan powerhouse Gurbaz will leave the squad for international duties after the Barbados leg of the competition. Robinson will take his place in the squad until Gurbaz returns for the Guyana leg of the tournament.
Westmoreland secures 2024 Kingston Wharves Under-15 Cricket title
Westmoreland overpowered Kensington to become the undisputed champion of the 33rd Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket competition at the Ultimate Cricket Ground in Discovery Bay St. Ann recently.
Westmoreland shared the championship twice in the distant past but became the sole champion this year, winning all its matches in the preliminary round, quarterfinal, semifinal and the final.
Wining the final was not always a surety during the match as Kensington restricted Westmoreland to 115 all out in 28.4 overs and threatened the score for a while as well as the lengthy rain delay during Kensington’s innings.
The match MVP, Westmoreland’s Humario Reid shouldered the batting when he scored 80 runs from 81 deliveries and was the only batsman to get into double figures. The bulk of the wickets went to Zachary Buchanan who took seven for 33 while Andrew Lloyd got two for 32.
Kensington started positively but lost its first wicket at 15 and then had a steady progression of batsmen returning to the pavilion, and was on seven for 27 at one point. There was a rain delay when they were in the thirties. They returned to the crease and steadied the inning but when they lost their eight wicket on 73, the writing was on the wall. They were eventually all out for 77 in 34.4 overs and lost the match by 38 runs to Westmoreland.
Kensington’s captain Andrew Lloyd was the main run getter with 45 while Abraham Waugh, the only other batsman to get into double figures contributed 14 runs. The wickets were shared among Jemar Morgan three for 12, captain Ryan Littleton three for 23 and Davere Buchanan two for 17.
Westmoreland’s coach Grantley Reid was very happy with the result.
“I am (happy) because we have been here before but we had to share. For the work that was put in because the journey did not begin with this competition. Most of the boys have been to quarter finals but we never made it through but I knew we had the depth to win this competition and they delivered. Even when we were in deep trouble, because at one point Kensington made a fight of the match. They played well to come back from where they were because we thought it would have been over before they reach 50 but they fought well. They played well. They had heart. They have a young team.”
The awards ceremony followed immediately after the match. There were several awards including the MVP for the final – Humario Reid, the teams’ MVPs – Westmoreland’s Ryan Littleton with 13 wickets and 236 runs and Kensington’s Abraham Waugh who bagged 21 wickets and 156 runs during the competition.
Some of the highlights recorded for this year were; four centuries (same as last year), 15 five-wicket hauls by 12 different bowlers and four batsmen scored over 200 runs each.
Simone Murdock, corporate services and client experience manager at Kingston Wharves was also happy with this year’s competition. “We are glad to see a successful year come to an end. As said in the (closing) ceremony we are finally returning to scores similar to the years before Covid so we are glad to see that we are on the right track and to celebrate with Westmoreland.”
The Jamaica Cricket Association’s president, Dr. Donovan Bennett who watched most of the final, promised a better competition going forward based on the association’s plans to increase its investment in junior level cricket.
“We are working hard to ensure that where we were pre Covid, that we get back there as soon as we possibly can.”
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