Allen welcomes Windwards’ Super50 success

Coach of the Windward Islands senior cricket team, Vincentian Ian Allen, is delighted with this team’s success in the recent Super50 competition.{{more}}

The Windwards registered a commanding 10-wicket win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges under the Duckworth/Lewis method at the Kensington Oval in Barbados last Sunday night.

This earned the Windwards the Clive Lloyd Trophy, their first regional title since 2000, when the team also won the limited overs trophy.

A beaming Allen told SEARCHLIGHT last Tuesday: “This title means a lot to me personally and for Windwards cricket as a whole….It has brought lots of satisfaction to me and the team for their hard work and dedication over the past six to seven years…..It will set a positive mindset for cricket in the Windwards and also for the future generations of Windwards cricket.

“…. I was pleased to see the way the team played throughout the tournament, also in the semi and finals and we deserved this title”, Allen added.

“ ….We played as a team where everyone always wanted to do well, everyone also played for the person next to him, while celebrating others’ success. The never-give-up attitude also helped”, the Windwards coach confirmed.

Whilst singling out the leadership of Liam Sebastien, Allen said the Super50 triumph was a total team effort, as all the players contributed in one way or the other.

Allen said during the net sessions and in team meetings, his charges were all receptive to advice, which carried over to the actual competitive matches.

The latest title brought with it a bit of nostalgia, he said.

Allen, a former St Vincent and the Grenadines, Windwards and West Indies fast bowler, was part of the Windwards team which claimed the regional 50-over competition in 1989.

That win was the first for the four-island grouping since the separation from the Combined Islands in 1982.

Allen believes that Windwards cricket has been making noticeable progress over the last eight to 10 years, which has caused the other territories to stop and take notice. They are no longer dismissed as the “whipping boys” of West Indies cricket, he said.

The Windwards also have another chance at lifting regional silverware when they face Barbados in the four-day competition semi-finals from May 2 to 5 in Dominica, and Allen wants the team to carry over the momentum in the longer version.

“…As we prepare for the four-day semi-finals, we will be taking it one game at a time, as we did in the Super50. Even though we beat Barbados in the preliminary round, we will not be taking them for granted, but continue to improve on the areas that are working for us, while we work on the areas we need to improve on”, Allen stated.

“The four-day title is the ultimate of the titles in WICB cricket competitions, so the team will be working hard to achieve this title as well”, Allen concluded.(RT)