BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Marlon Samuels and Ryan Austin are the leading batsman and bowler respectively, in the WICB Regional first-class championship, following the fourth round of matches, which ended on Monday. Samuels has scored 595 runs from seven innings in four matches at an average of 99.16 to lead the batting in the Championship, and for front-runners and three-time defending champions Jamaica.
He has struck three hundreds so far, with his highest score an undefeated 250 against Guyana on home soil at the Alpart Sports Club in the first round.
Off-spin bowler Austin has collected 18 wickets at 23.38 apiece from 127.3 overs delivered in four matches for the Combined Campuses & Colleges.
His best bowling figures came against the England Lions in the last round of matches, when he snared seven for 134 in the visitors’ first innings at the Three Ws Oval.
In the batting, Samuels is the only batsman to have crossed the 500-run threshold, but England Lions’ James Taylor has accumulated 421 from seven innings in four matches at an average of 84.20. He is the only other batsman who has crossed the 400-run mark.
Trinidad & Tobago captain Daren Ganga has the highest batting average of 120.00. He has gathered 360 runs – the third highest aggregate – from six innings, including three not-outs, which has greatly contributed to his healthy batting average.
This follows his unbeaten 134 in the fourth round that spurred his side to a sensational, come-from-behind, 51-run victory over Windwards at the Arnos Vale Multi-Purpose Complex in St Vincent.
Five other players have amassed more than 300 runs, including Kirk Edwards whose average of 102.00 is second only to Ganga’s.
The Barbadian batsman is now attending the World Cup in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh after being called-up to replace the injured Adrian Barath. Before his departure, he scored 306 runs from three innings in two matches.
In the bowling, England Lions’ Jade Dernbach has been the most successful fast bowler in a competition, which has generally been dominated by spinners in recent times.
Dernbach has captured 17 wickets at an average of 15.94 from 91.4 overs bowled in three matches, while T&T’s Rayad Emrit has been the most successful peddler of pace from the Caribbean, with 16 wickets – the fourth highest aggregate – at 13.18 apiece.
Lyndon James of Windward Islands and T&T’s Denesh Ramdin have so far been the most busy wicketkeepers, with 15 dismissals each, comprising 14 catches and one stumping.
Samuels, T&T’s Justin Guillen, and CCC’s Omar Phillips have had the most adhesive hands, holding eight catches in the outfield apiece.
The Championship takes a break this coming weekend, but resumes on March 11, when Jamaica host CCC at Chedwin Park in Innswood, Jamaica; Barbados face Windwards at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados; T&T meet Leeward Islands at the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Trinidad; and Guyana welcome the Lions at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, Guyana.