Canada, Leeward continue to disappoint

Windward Islands surged to their third win in as many games and cemented their spot at the head of Group A with a 22-run win against Leeward Islands at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Batting first, Windward were on their way quickly, through an electric 42-run opening stand in three overs between Johnson Charles and Miles Bascombe. Gavin Tonge then helped Leeward recover ground with three quick strikes. Justin Athanaze shackled Windward in the middle overs with a spell of 3 for 12 in four overs, while Devon Smith anchored proceedings with 31 off 29 balls. Darren Sammy and Shane Shillingford provided the closing fireworks, slugging four sixes and three fours in all, off the 25 balls they faced between the two of them. Windward were bowled out for 157 with a ball to spare.

Leeward's chase was propelled in ideal fashion by their openers Kieran Powell and Austin Richards, their 45-run stand coming off 6.1 overs. Chesney Hughes maintained the momentum with 25 off 13 balls, but the innings slumped once Shillingford's offspin came into the picture. He had Hughes stumped and proceeded to slice through the middle order to finish with 4 for 22. Three run-outs did not help Leeward's cause, and they were bowled out in the 20th over. They have now lost three of their four games.

The only solace for Leeward came from Canada who remained winless after three games, thanks to an eight-wicket loss against Guyana at the Kensington Oval. Canada gave a creditable account of themselves with the bat, with Ruvindu Gunasekara (38 off 28) and Jimmy Hansra (40 off 36) providing the platform for a score of 143 for 7. But the total proved insufficient for their bowlers to defend, and Guyana sped to the target in 17 overs. Narsingh Deonarine was the top scorer, with 52 off 32 balls including four fours and two sixes.