Lords, Fire Service draw battle lines

First-time finalists Barbados Fire Service (BFS) and Brathwaite's Construction Lords will start the battle for the Barbados Cricket Association Second Division title today at Barclays at 1 p.m.

The final will continue tomorrow and next Saturday.

BFS, who topped Zone B with 66 points, advanced to the final by taking first innings points off Zone A winners Parish Land. Lords got their berth with a better overall scoring rate (22.3) over defending champions Police (20.2).

With the pitch being covered for the game both captains are looking forward to batting once.

'We are eager for the finals,' said Fire Service captain Anthony King. 'We would like to score enough runs and bat once. We will take it as a normal game, bat an entire day and take it from there.'

'We have been in the semis on three occasions and the guys are looking forward to pulling it off,' he added.

Lords skipper Douglas Johnson was equally confident.

'This is our year. We are not worrying about our opponents. We met on two previous occasions and we got the better of them. Our intention is to get into the Intermediate,' he said.

Both teams will be heavily dependent on their captains to maintain their form. Johnson has scored over 500 runs and King has just over 400. However, the teams are not one-man shows. Johnson has Deryck Greaves and David Bynoe with over 700 between them to spearhead the St. Lucy Lords batting. Along with King, the Fire Service have the Mapps, Alvin and Andrew, and all-rounder Alex Bynoe.

In the bowling, Lords will be depending heavily on off-spinner Trevor Boyce, last season's leading wicket-taker. Opening fast bowler Marcus Wickham, who has 58 scalps, will spearhead the Fire Service attack.

BFS: (Anthony King (captain), Alvin Mapp, Andrew Mapp, Alex Bynoe, Londsdale Blake, Marcus Wickham, Ryan Sargeant, Patrick Smith, Wilfred Moseley, Henderson Patrick, Patrick Smith, Ernie Fields, Rodney King).

Lords: Douglas Johnson (captain), Junior Collymore, Deryck Greaves, David Bynoe, Curtis Edwards, Trevor Boyce, Dale Boyce, March Broomes, Julien Gibbons, Shawn Holder, Pedro Cumberbatch, David Bowen, Earl Payne).

Umpires: Anthony Scott, Adrian Nipse; Colvin Brathwaite (stand-by)