Shillingford pulled up

One teenager continued to flourish while another had his impressive season stalled when the opening day of Round 4 in regional cricket's Busta Series began with two matches yesterday.

In Grenada, the Leeward Islands reached 266 for eight against the Windward Islands, mainly through an unbroken ninth-wicket century stand between Joel Simmonds and Kerry Jeremy.

Much of the intrigue, though, was provided by experienced Test umpire Steve Bucknor, who called Windward Islands off-spinner Shane Shillingford three times for throwing.

The 17-year-old Shillingford was called by Bucknor twice from square-leg before his captain Rawl Lewis withdrew him from the attack. But when Lewis brought him back to bowl with Bucknor as the standing umpire, Shillingford was again called after three balls. His third offence meant he was unable to bowl for the remainder of the innings, in accordance with the laws.

Commentators and observers had voiced their suspicions over Shillingford's action, but it was the first time he had ever been called for throwing. The Dominican started the season with a seven-wicket haul against Jamaica and had 12 wickets in three matches while delivering 135 overs before yesterday. He also played without incident in under-19 tournaments and last November's Red Stripe Bowl regional limited-overs competition.

In Trinidad, West Indies B's Tonito Willett continued his rich vein of form with a classy 89 in spite of his team falling for 191 against Guyana. The Guyanese were 47 for two in reply by the close.

Willett, a 17-year-old from Nevis, hit 15 boundaries across the Queen's Park Oval outfield in an innings that spanned 126 balls and 2-1/2 hours. He took his run tally in his debut season to 328 at an average of 54.67.

Fast bowler Kevin Darlington led Guyana's bowling attack with five for 53 from 21 overs.