Windiescricket.com
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – A strong bowling performance – led by Romario Shepherd – earned Guyana Jaguars an important six-wicket victory over long-standing rivals Trinidad & Tobago in their day/night contest inside three days and practically handed them the 2018-19 West Indies Championship title.
Shepherd, the season’s leading pacer, captured eight wickets in the 10th round match contested at the Guyana National Stadium to carry his tally of scalps to 37 at 20.13 apiece, as the Jags completed their seventh win of the season.
At the same time – Devon Thomas hit his sixth first-class hundred and WINDIES fast bowler Alzarri Joseph bagged eight wickets to lead a string of valuable performances that propelled Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a crucial six-wicket victory over Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here.
And, a star-studded Barbados Pride batting line-up defied the spin duo of Nikita Miller and Akim Fraser to log a two-wicket victory and complete a season sweep over Jamaica Scorpions at Sabina Park.
These results meant that the Jaguars finished their schedule of matches for the season with 154.2 points – effectively laying claim to the Headley/Weekes Trophy, symbol of West Indies first-class supremacy, for a fifth straight season.
The Jags are provisionally 23 points clear of the Hurricanes, their nearest rivals, who still have a mathematical chance of clinching the title, as they still have one match in hand against the Pride, starting on Thursday here.
The Hurricanes however, face the highly improbable, if not impossible task of reaping the maximum 24 points against Pride to be able to surpass the Jaguars to be able to take home their fifth West Indies first-class title for the first time since they shared with the Jags 21 years ago.
Summary of matches:
1. Red Force (120 & 206) lost to Jaguars (165) & 163-4 by six wickets in Providence, Guyana
2. Volcanoes (200 & 226) lost to Hurricanes (261) & 168-4 by six wickets in North Sound, Antigua
3. Scorpions (250 & 218) lost to Pride (311) & 161-8 by two wickets in Kingston, Jamaica