Three teams eye berth in final

BRIDGETOWN: Three teams will be realistically eyeing a spot in the Challenge final against runaway champions Jamaica, when the final series of matches in the Carib Beer Series bowl off tomorrow. With Jamaica crowned champions in the last series after defeating former champions Barbados, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana will all be going all out to join them in the final, scheduled for March 18 to 22. The Leeward Islands are second in the standings on 55 points and will face Guyana, on 47 points, in an encounter at Hampton Court.

Trinidad and Tobago, the other team with a realistic chance of reaching the final, have 54 points and will host whipping boys Barbados at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. Despite their second position in the standings, the Leewards still have a challenge on their hands in order to reach the final. They face a Guyanese team that has not lost at home this season but more importantly, who has not lost a game in the Carib Series since Jamaica beat them back in January.

To their credit, the Leewards have won two of their last four matches and came close to beating Guyana when they played at Grove Park in the second round of the Carib Series. Then, they forced Guyana to follow on after claiming first innings points but will know that with a batting line-up containing the likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul, the prospect of repeating that scenario will be difficult.  With Trinidad a mere point behind them and up against bottom placed Barbados, the Leewards will need to push for an outright win in order to avoid being caught by Trinidad or Guyana.

Guyana are eight points adrift of the Leewards and can only reach the final by scoring an outright win against them. Even then, Guyana would have to hope Barbados beat Trinidad outright, in order to advance. Trinidad though will fancy their chances of reaching the final as an outright win against a Barbados side that has lost six matches already this season is a distinct possibility. In addition, they will also believe that Guyana can frustrate the Leewards into a stalemate.