Lewis rebukes bats

Roseau - Rawl Lewis yesterday chided his Windward Islands team-mates for their sub-standard batting display in their embarrassing ten-wicket defeat to Barbados.

"I am very, very disappointed. The batsmen did not apply themselves. It was a very poor outing and they did not play to the game plan," the Windwards captain said after his team's defeat midway into the third day.

"The way we batted, we didn't show any character or determination."

Windwards, who have always endured problems against leg-spin bowling, could only manage totals of 120 and 89 and were undermined mainly by Dave Marshall, who completed a match haul of 11 for 82.

Lewis believed his batsmen ought to have been more patient on a ground where runs were hard to come by.

"It is four-day cricket. You cannot go out there and play a shot-a-ball in this type of cricket," he said.

"Our batsmen have to go back in the nets and work on their game. The spin bowling has been giving them a lot of problems.

"They cannot pick the leg-spinner. When you get out there as a batsman and you are not sure what they are bowling, you tend to play shots. That is the wrong way to do it."

The Windwards have been enjoying one the their best seasons, but their first loss of the tournament means that they need to get some points against Guyana next weekend to stand a chance of reaching the semifinals.