Red Stripe Bowl: Leewards and Barbados in big match (8 October 1998)

8 October 1998

Red Stripe Bowl: Leewards and Barbados in big match

By Tony Becca

The first big match in Zone Two of the 1998 Red Stripe Bowl cricket tournament is on today with six-time winners and defending champions the Leeward Islands up against three-time winners Barbados at Alpart starting at 9.30.

After the lopsided contests in which the Leeward Islands crushed the United States by 242 runs and Jamaica nailed them by eight wickets, today's match brings together two of the favourites and should be an exciting affair - especially with the quality players on show.

For the Leeward Islands, the batsmen include the aggressive Stuart Williams and the attacking newcomer Wilden Cornwall - the openers who smashed 187 runs in 30 overs against the US on Tuesday, Keith Arthurton, Ridley Jacobs, Dave Joseph and young Sylvester Joseph, and although Kenneth Benjamin remains a doubtful starter, the bowlers include pacers Curtley Ambrose, Carl Tuckett and Hamish Anthony and offspinner Anthony Lake.

For Barbados, who missed the semi-final last year and are bidding to make ammends, the batsmen include the explosive Philo Wallace, Sherwin Campbell, Adrian Griffith, Floyd Reifer and Roland Holder and their bowlers feature pacers Patterson Thompson, Henderson Bryan, Henderson Broomes and left-hander Pedro Collins and left-arm spinner Winston Reid.

Apart from Test wicketkeeper Courtney Browne, and wicketkeeper Ricky Hoyte who may be in as a batsman, the Barbados squad also includes two young batsmen - 18-year-old Antonio Mayers, who also bowls medium pace, and 17-year-old left-hander Ryan Hinds, who also bowls left-arm spin.

With such stars on either side, there should be some interesting contests within the contest - especially at the start of both innings.

At the start of the Leeward Islands' innings, for example, it will be Williams and Cornwall versus possibly Thompson and Collins, and at the start of the Barbados innings it will be Wallace and Campbell against Ambrose and hopefully Benjamin.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)