Windwards win 2, lose 1 in CT/20

The Windward Islands are expected to carry over their form when they meet the Red Force of Trinidad and Tobago in the second and final stop over of the Caribbean T-20 cricket competition at the Beausejour cricket stadium in St Lucia today.{{more}}

But the Windwards have to bring their A game against the Trinidadians, who have three wins and one no-decision to their credit.

After losing to Jamaica by 12 runs in their opening match Wednesday at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, the Windwards regrouped to beat the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by 42 runs and the Leewards by 10 runs, to push their points tally to eight from three matches.

Batting first, the Windwards, led by Keddy Lesporis — 33 and Darren Sammy — 32, pushed their team to 129 for 7 in their 20 overs.

Bowling for the CCC, Raymon Reifer took 2 for 14 and Jason Holder 2 for 26.

Sammy then led with the ball as he grabbed 3 for 17; Liam Sebastian — 2 for 8, Garey Mathurin — 2 for 24, and a wicket apiece for Dellorn Johnson and Shane Shillingford, combined to dismiss the CCC for 87 in 18.5 overs.

Then, on Saturday, when the Trinidad leg closed off, the Windwards took first strike and laboured to 111 for 8 off the maximum 20 overs.

Miles Bascombe — 29 and Andre Fletcher — 24 propped up the Windwards’ total.

Bowling for the Leewards, Chesney Hughes took 2 for 8, Anthony Martin — 2 for 19 and Gavin Tonge — 2 for 21.

Liam Sebastian snared 4 for 17 to be the fulcrum of the Windwards’ bowling attack, as the Leewards could only reach 101 for 9 from their allotted 20 overs.

Dellorn Johnson chipped in with 2 for 18 and there was 1 wicket each for Mathurin and Sammy.

The Leewards’ response was led by Justin Athanze — 24 and Devon Thomas — 20.

The Windwards, after tonight’s match, meet Barbados on Thursday night and Guyana on Friday night.

The Barbadians go to the St Lucia leg with 8 points from four matches and Guyana, like the Windwards, eight from three matches.

Jamaica sit on 9 from 4 matches, CCC 4 from 4 and the Leewards have no points from their 4 matches.

The top team in the preliminary round heads straight to the final. The second and third place teams face each other in a playoff for the other final spot. The final is set for next Sunday.

Guyana won the inaugural title in 2010, while Trinidad and Tobago won in 2011 and 2012.

The winner of the Caribbean T-20, apart from the prize money, gains a spot in the champions league qualifying round in September in South Africa. (RT)