The Windward Islands lost their first three matches in the Cricket West Indies T20 Blaze, and lost their captain, Zaida James, ahead of a reversal against Barbados on Saturday, January 17. The competition is being played at Arnos Vale Sporting Complex in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Windwards are one from the bottom.
On Saturday, the Windwards lost by three wickets to Barbados. James, a West Indies allrounder, did not take the field, nursing a minor injury. Winning the toss, Jannillea Glasgow opted to bat first. The Windwards proceeded to lose three wickets within the first eight overs, whilst struggling to pick the gaps, putting on just 32 runs. Glasgow went for a laboured eight off 21 deliveries, and Saint Lucia’s Nerissa Crafton added six in nine balls.
Veteran international player Afy Fletcher steadied the ship, as she and Carena Noel added 37 runs in seven overs. Fletcher found the boundary three times in her knock of 35 off 32 balls, before heading back to the pavilion at the end of the 15th over. The last five overs produced only 17 runs, for the loss of four more wickets, and Windwards ended on 86-8.
Shamilia Connell was the leading bowler for Barbados. She came up with a remarkable four wickets for just eight runs from her four overs of right-arm medium pace.
The chase was far from straightforward for Barbados, but the Windwards served up 24 extras to help the cause. A stand of 30 between Naijanni Cumberbatch and Asabi Callender was ended when Aidith Gasper, on debut, removed Cumberbatch, the first of two wickets for Gasper.
Profligate bowling and a late-order knock of 12 from 13 balls by Allison Gordon led Barbados to victory at the beginning of the 17th over. Afy Fletcher, Aidith Gasper and Abini St Jean all bowled well in defense of the low total, each claiming two wickets, but James’ absence was felt in all three areas of the game.
Previously, the Windwards had lost to Guyana, and to Trinidad and Tobago by 16 runs. Fletcher and Glasgow are fourth and fifth in terms of runs scored after three rounds of play, with 82 and 70, respectively. The Windwards, winless, are above only Jamaica by virtue of bowling points. Those two teams meet on January 19.
