WI local: Showdown at Dover

The tiny Dover ground in St. Lawrence Gap isset for a major explosion today. Former champions Pine Hill Dairy St. John Cultural and longstanding Intermediate kings Piton Dover are expected to heat up the place in the feature quarter-final of the Barbados Fire & Commercial Shield competition.

The match has the potential to be a final.

Both sides boast of big names.

Dover, Shield champions in 1992 and Intermediate winners for the last four seasons, are parading a host of players with Division 1 experience.

Among them are the big-hitting Wilbur Bruce, experienced all-rounders Vibert Greene and Richard Thornton, former national youth team wicketkeeper Ryan Durant and thereliable Kirton brothers, Jerry, LeVere and Litchfield.

St. John Cultural may not appear to have as many top flight players, but their line-up is just as strong and deep.

The likes of Deon Brewster, Robert Seale, Anstie Cain, Paul Rowe and Adrian Howell can give trouble to any team at this level.

Both teams have also played impressively throughout the tournament.

Dover are coming off a run-feast last Sunday, romping to 271 for nine on the way to a 59-run victory over Wibix.

That win followed a four-wicket success over MTW in the opening round and an eight-wicket victory against Lodge in the preliminaries.

St. John Cultural have been just as outstanding, thrashing YMCA by 139 runs in the first round and Bayville by nine wickets in the second.

The other two quarterfinals also provide lots of interest.

BRC, the 1998 champions should start as favourites against former finalists Standard at Orange Hill, St. James, but it should be an open game at Beckles Road where Garrison are opposing Psychiatric Hospital.

The latter two have been surprise packages in the tournament.

Garrison, on the strength of two half-centuries from Barbados youth team player Dwayne Smith, have upset fellow school team Combermere and UWI.

Psychiatric Hospital, however, pulled off the biggest shock of the competition last Sunday when they beat former champions Yorkshire in a match in which the target was reduced after a stoppage for rain.

In addition to a place in the semifinals, at stake are also Man-of- The-Match awards of $400 sponsored by Life of Barbados.

The final second round match between Fustic United and Prison Officers, which was washed out last week, will also be played today at Checker Hall.