Sports
October 19, 2010
Windwards make it to the semi finals

The Senior Windward Islands Cricket team has booked a place in the semi-finals of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Limited overs competition currently talking place in Jamaica.{{more}}

Last Saturday, they secured the spot coming out of Group A with a five-wicket win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC). Prior to that on Thursday, October 14, they had defeated Jamaica, also by five wickets, but on the Duckworth/ Lewis system.

In Saturday’s match, the CCC batted first and posted 202 for 9 off their 50 overs. Ryan Wiggins top scored with 52, captain Romel Currency, 33, and Chadwick Walton, 37, from 17 balls, with two fours and three sixes.

The Windwards’ captain, Darren Sammy, snared 3 for 34 from 10 overs, and Shane Shillingford 2 for 36, also from his 10-over spell.

An opening stand of 105 between Johnson Charles, who made 72 and Devon Smith, 48, set the platform for the Windwards’ response.

As usual, the Windwards team lost its way and at one point was 170 for 5, but Darren Sammy calmed things down with a responsible 24.

The Windwards got home at 203 for 7 in the 48th over.

Gilford Moore with 4 for 41, from his 10 overs, was the CCC’s most successful bowler.

In the Windwards’ first match on Thursday, Jamaica rallied to 223 for 5 off their allotted 50 overs. The Windwards in its reply, after two rain interruptions, then reached 85 for 5 off 20 overs, after being set a revised target of 113 off 35 overs.

At that point, the Windwards needed to be at 75 for 5.

Leading the way for the Windwards was Devon Smith, who made a composed 42 not out, and Johnson Charles who contributed 20.

Nikita Miller of Jamaica took 2 for 8 off four overs, while Odean Brown took 2 for 10 off three overs.

When Jamaica batted, Chris Gayle struck 58 not out, Tamar Lambert made, 38, Danza Hyatt, 36, and Carlton Baugh Jr, 24 not out. Darren Sammy took 2 for 44, and there was one wicket apiece for Gairy Mathurin and Shane Shilingford.

The Windwards is set to play against Trinidad and Tobago, who saw off the CCC by eight wickets and shared the points with Jamaica after their meeting on Saturday was abandoned because of rain.

The semi-finals are set for this Thursday and Friday, involving the two top finishers from Group B, which include Guyana, Barbados, the Leewards, and the Sagicor High Performance Center.

The Windwards was the losing finalist against Trinidad and Tobago when the regional limited overs final, then sponsored by Kentucky, was played here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2007. (RT)