Bravo best regional all-rounder

While the Barbadians are eyeing unique regional back-to-back double championship titles, it was Trinidad and Tobago’s Dwayne Bravo who emerged as the region’s top all-rounder in the just concluded Carib Beer Cricket Series. In the seven round-robin series, Bravo amassed 481 runs for an average of 37.00. He claimed 28 wickets at an impressive average of 13.46 per wicket. Among the leading run-getters, the Queen’s Park Club cricketer was fourth overall and was also fourth among the leading wicket-takers.

Windwards opener Devon Smith, who scored four centuries, topped the batting aggregate with 791 runs for an average of 79.10. Smith headed Leewards’ Sylvester Joseph who totalled 517 runs (43.08), Kenya’s Kennedy Otieno with 512 (39.38), Bravo came next with 481 (37.00), Barbadian Ryan Hinds followed with 425 (42.50), then Sherwin Campbell 419 (41.90) and Leewards’ Carl Tuckett 413 (41.30). Among the all-rounders, Kenyan captain Steve Tikolo chalked up 382 runs (31.83) and bagged 15 wickets while his senior compatriot and off-spinner Maurice Odumbe featured with 312 runs (31.20) and 24 wickets at 13.87 each. Jamaica’s captain Gareth Breese finished with 200 runs (25.00) and 25 wickets at 23.60 each while promising Windwards Darren Sammy scored 259 runs (28.77) and scalped 20 wickets for an average of 20.25.

Former West Indies leg-spinners Rawl Lewis and Mahendra Nagamootoo also featured prominently with both bat and ball. Lewis has been at the helm of the Windwards team for over two years and he tallied 321 runs for an average of 32.10 while his 19 wickets cost 22.31 each. Nagamootoo, who was dropped from the Guyana team for two matches, returned with a bang and picked up fifteen wickets in the last two matches against the West Indies “B” and Kenya as the Guyanese recorded convincing victories and edged out Trinidad and Tobago for a place in the Carib Beer International Challenge semi-finals. He took his overall wickets aggregate to 23 at 26.39 each while he amassed 186 runs at 23.25.

Nagamootoo started the season with 233 wickets and is now joint third place overall in West Indies First Class bowling aggregate. He stands
alongside Trinidad and Tobago’s Rangy Nanan who took 256 wickets in 64 matches. The Guyanese leg-spinner’s best innings return is seven for 76 and overhauled the 250-wicket mark in 58 matches, much faster than Nanan whose overall best innings analysis is seven for 109. At age 28, “Nagas” is the youngest bowler to achieve 200 wickets at the regional senior level. His senior compatriot and former Test offspinner Clyde Butts heads the overall bowling aggregate table with 270 wickets in 61 matches while Jamaica’s and West Indies world record Test fast bowler Courtney Walsh is in second position with 264 wickets from 60 matches.