… Barbados beat Windwards by nine wickets

By Rajiv Bisnauth

GUYANA concluded their West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Women’s T20 tournament on a happy note, winning their final game against the Leeward Islands by 96 runs yesterday in the fifth-place playoffs at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.Player-of-the-Match Shemaine Campbelle and Lashuna Toussaint laid the foundation for the comfortable victory with unbeaten half-centuries, before they bowled and also fielded brilliantly to emerge deserving winners.
The 23-year-old Campbelle continued her rich vein of form by smashing an unbeaten 70 to guide Guyana to 158-1, after the home side were put in to bat.
With 78 T20s to her credit, Campbelle cracked seven fours and two sixes in 53 balls and added an unbeaten 141 in 17.5 overs with Toussaint for the second wicket. Toussaint, with five elegant boundaries was left unbeaten on 63 off 63 balls.
The Guyanese lost opener Melaine Henry in the third over, bowled by Shawnisha Hector for one at 11-1, but Toussaint and Campbelle were in their usual elegance, with Campbelle displaying an exemplary captain’s steadiness.
Toussaint achieved her fifty off 47 balls, with her fifth boundary and Guyana’s 100 came shortly after in the 15th over.
But Campbelle then produced another landmark – the first six of the game, which soared effortlessly over the mid-wicket boundary rope, off the bowling of medium pacer Jenisen Richards.
She then got to her 40-ball half-century, the second of the tournament before she unleashed a second six over the long-on boundary off Hector.
The visitors’ bowlers were very ordinary, allowing the Guyanese pair to take full advantage in ensuring a commanding total.
The winning target of 159 would have always been a difficult task, and throughout the innings the visitors routinely failed to put partnerships together and never threatened to surpass the target and lost the match comprehensively.
The Guyanese bowlers took complete control of the innings, and Leewards were bowled out for just 62 in 16.4 overs.
Off-spinner Plaffiana Millington was the pick of the bowlers, with 3-7, while Erva Giddings (2-14), Subrina Munroe (1-11), Tremayne Smartt (1-14) and Akaze Thompson (1-10), were the other successful bowlers.
Saneldo Willett and Amanda Edwards were the only two batters to reach double digits with ten each.

DISAPPOINTED
Meanwhile, after the game coach Andre Percival said that while he is pleased with the win yesterday, he is disappointed that Guyana could not have finished in a better position.
Further, Campbelle lamented the lack of outdoor training which contributed to the team’s poor showing.
In another fixture, Barbados whipped the Windward Islands by nine wickets in the third-place playoff. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Windward Islands were reduced to 98-3.
Openers Stacy Ann Adonis (11) and Glendeen Turtin (9) fell cheaply, but Akiera Peters and Afy Fletcher were the glue of the innings.
Peters top-scored with 39 not out, while Fletcher scored 25.
Shakera Selman dismissed both openers in a four-over spell that produced 2-14.
In reply, Barbados lost Rackel Williams (6), leg-before-wicket to Hayley Matthews at 18-1.
However, opener Kycia Knight and number three batter Deandra Dottin added an unbroken second-wicket stand of 81 to seal the match.
Player-of-the-match Knight raced to 46 not out off 36 balls, inclusive of seven fours and a six while Dottin ended on 25 not out, off just 19 balls. She found the boundary on four occasions.
Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica clashed in the final last night.