-Baker snares five victims
DISCARDED West Indies opener Andre Fletcher, struck five fours and three sixes in his 70 as the Windward Islands, despite Lionel Baker’s 5 for 50, defeated joint defending champions Leeward Islands by 151 runs in their second warm-up game at the Demerara Cricket Club ground yesterday.
Batting first, the Windwards scored an imposing 297 from their 50 overs, with Gary Mathurin 43 (2×6, 2×4), Dalton Polius 40 (4×4, 1×6), Liam Sebastian 33 (5×4) and Johnson Charles 20 (4×4) offering support to Fletcher.
Jason Campbell and Orlando Peters offered support to Baker by picking up two wickets each for 47 and 62 runs respectively for the Leewards, who crumbled under the bowling of Dennis George who ended with 4 for 23, for a meager 146 in reply.
Steve Liburd and Montcin Hodge each made 24, with Liburd hitting one four and one six in his innings and Hodge two fours and one six, while skipper Javia Liburd struck the same number of boundaries as Hodge in his 17.
However, no other Leeward Islands batsman got on top of their opponents bowling, with George receiving worthy support from both Mathurin and Polius who took two wickets each for 16 and 18 runs respectively.
The Windwards open their campaign in this year’s West Indies Cricket Board’s organised Regional Super50 tournament against host Guyana at the Guyana National Stadium tomorrow, while the Leewards face powerhouse Jamaica in their first match at the same venue the following day. (Calvin Roberts)