RECUPERATING?West Indies pacer Fidel Edwards makes a long-awaited return to competitive cricket as the battle for title honours and to avoid relegation will be fiercely contested when the final series of the 2010 LIME Division One cricket championship bowls off today.
Edwards, who has not played cricket for a year, will turn out for his struggling club, Caribbean Lumber YMPC, in a match against CGI Maple, who could have new Windies fast-bowling spearhead Kemar Roach at Trents, but the focus won’t be only on them.
Leaders and defending champions Sagicor UWI, (123), with a seven-point cushion over second-place challengers Super Centre Spartan (116) need a minimum of ten points in their match against Guardian General Barbados Youth at Lester Vaughan to be assured of retaining their title.
With hosts Spartan likely to get a maximum 16 points from an outright victory over the demoted
Old Brigand Dover at Queen’s Park, if their batsmen manage to post a 300-run first innings total, UWI would be seeking to put themselves in an unsurpassable position.
Most pundits believe the UWI-Barbados Youth encounter on the usually batsman-friendly pitch at the Cane Garden, St Thomas venue, will end in a high-scoring draw. Hence, UWI would be aiming for four batting points, at least three bowling points and three more for first innings lead.
In an attempt to boost their points by making generous declarations, UWI, after losing to Banks, almost suffered a second straight defeat in their last encounter against Wanderers, which ended in a tie.
The UWI batting line-up is among the strongest in the country, as evidenced by a tournament-high
33 batting points, which have significantly boosted their overall tally. They have won just two matches, compared to five wins by Spartan, who have earned only 20 batting points but may be boosted by the return of West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn.
It is not easy to beat schoolboys at Lester Vaughan but UWI, with the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Ryan Austin (60 wickets) spearheading their bowling attack, may fancy their chances especially if the Combermere trio of Kraigg Brathwaite, Jomel Warrican and Justin Greaves, are not in the line-up. Â
TeleBarbados Carlton, despite badly missing their injured openers Dale Richards and Vonrick Nurse, also have an outside chance of lifting the title should they get maximum points at their Desmond Haynes Oval home ground against the lowly Wanderers and both UWI and Spartan slip up.
Wanderers, who defeated Carlton last year, and will welcome back captain Ian Bradshaw and West Indies one-day selectee Kirk Edwards, are desperate for points to avoid relegation. Reports that YMPC are to be awarded full points after lodging a protest about the condition of the pitch in an earlier match against Police, would not be good news for one of the country’s oldest clubs.
No press release has come from the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) confirming this, but should YMPC gain an additional nine points, they would move from 83 to 92, leaving Wanderers (85) and ESA Field Pickwick (86) to battle to avoid demotion, even though some of the mid-table teams like CGI Maple (95), BNB St Catherine (93), Banks (92) and LIME (91) are not entirely safe.
Pickwick and LIME will host Banks and St Catherine at Foursquare Oval and Wildey, respectively.
POINTS: UWI123, Spartan 116, Carlton 112, Empire 101,
Maple 95, St Catherine 93, Banks 92, LIME 91, Pickwick 86,
Wanderers 85, YMPC 83, Barbados Youth 72, Police 70.
