WICB regional cricket..
… Barbados face Guyana at Providence Stadium
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – With Jamaica already crowned champions and fittingly having drawn a bye, the final round of WICB Regional four-day matches will see three teams vying for third place when it bowls off tomorrow.

Jamaica, who captured the title by grabbing first innings points in their loss to Windward Islands in the 12th round, have 106 points and will be idle spectators as the remaining teams scrap for lesser places.

The Windwards, Trinidad & Tobago and Leeward Islands are the teams in contention for the runners up position and will be going all out for victories in order to secure that spot behind Jamaica.

Windwards, who have had an erratic season but have emerged as one of the better teams on show, will take on the Leewards in St Thomas while T&T will clash with Combined Campuses and Colleges at the 3Ws Oval here.

In second place on 75 points, the Windwards are nine points ahead of the third placed T&T. They will be cognizant that nothing short of a victory will suffice especially with T&T heavily favoured to emerge with full points against the CCC.

The Leewards, in fourth with 65 points, could leapfrog everyone into second if they beat the Windwards outright and T&T lose or are held to a draw.

Barbados, serious title contenders at one stage, have imploded over the last few rounds and have now lost their last four matches.

The fact they now head to Guyana with their fourth captain of the season and with a significantly altered squad, tells the story of their campaign.

Windwards’ last round bye might work to their advantage, having taken a much needed rest at this stage of the extended first class season.

They are coming off a morale-boosting victory in the 12th round over Jamaica and will be hoping to use this as a catalyst against the Leewards.

More importantly, they should welcome back their senior players Devon Smith and Darren Sammy who were on West Indies duty against England, and this should be a boost to their ranks.

With six wins and four defeats this season, erratic is perhaps the best word to describe the Windwards this season and it will be anyone’s guess how they will perform over the weekend.

The Leewards, meanwhile, will look to rebound from their heavy nine-wicket loss to T&T and finish the season on a high.

They were let down by both their batting and bowling in at the Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla, and will know only an improved performance will give them a decent finish to the season.

T&T will be fancying their chances against the CCC but will not have it all their way against a side that has improved steadily in recent rounds.

In fact, the students have not lost in their last five outings and have managed victories against the Windwards and over Barbados here last week.

Their batting, in particular, has been impressive with talisman Floyd Reifer leading the way and the former West Indies left-hander is on the verge of becoming the second batsman this season to reach 1000 runs.

He currently has 957 runs at an average of 50 and judging from his recent form, he will be strongly backed to reach the landmark.

T&T will be boosted by the return of fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who were campaigning with the Windies in the ODI series against England.

The Trinidadians have a batting machine of their own in teenaged opener Adrian Barath who has over 800 runs this season, and he will lead that department.

Guyana, last in the tables with 30 points, will aim for their first win of the season against a Barbados side in strife.

Under a new captain in the inexperienced Kirk Edwards, Barbados have been weakened by the absence of veteran seamer Corey Collymore, key batsman Dwayne Smith and leading wicketkeeper Patrick Browne.

An outright win could still see Barbados finish third while Guyana cannot now improve on their bottom placed status.