The Headley-Weekes Trophy, symbol of regional first-class cricket supremacy, is now in the hands of the sport’s most decorated Caribbean territory.
Barbados’ six-year wait for regional cricket glory – after Jamaica’s five-year reign – ended just after lunch at Kensington Oval yesterday with an emphatic innings and 22-run victory over Trinidad and Tobago.
Needing to erase a deficit of 259 runs, Trinidad and Tobago were dismissed for 237 in their second innings, about half hour after lunch on the third day of the Regional 4-Day Championship final.
Barbados captain Kirk Edwards attributed the success to team unity and hard work, shortly after receiving the trophy from West Indies legend Sir Everton Weekes,
“We feel good because we have been working hard and we have been getting a lot of stick so it is always good to come out with a positive result,” Edwards said in a post-match interview.
“For our success, it is just playing together. It was a good team effort. When one guy does not come well, the other guy tends to put up his hand and come well, so we play as a unit and we tend to work together.”
Medium-fast swing bowler Jonathan Carter showed that he has a golden arm by snaring the key scalp of opener Lendl Simmons, who fell for a blistering 140, which was studded with 12 fours and eight sixes off 114 balls in 176 minutes.
After Simmons’ dismissal, caught by wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich in Carter’s first over at 195 for six, there was only token resistance from the remaining batsmen as pacer Javon Searles took three of the last four wickets for 31 runs in 12.4 overs.
Man-Of-The-Match Miguel Cummins got the other to end with four for 75 in 14 overs and finish with match figures of nine for 105. He had taken five for 30 to rout Trinidad and Tobago for a meagre first innings total of 110, to which Barbados, on the back of a patient 122 by opener Kraigg Brathwaite, replied with 369.
The 22-year-old Cummins, who made his first-class debut last year, playing a solitary match, ended his first full season at the regional level with 35 wickets, the most by a fast bowler in the competition.
Barbados’ triumph was the country’s 21st since the West Indies first-class competition was first sponsored in 1966. The Bajan cricketers, whose last four-day title was in 2007, also won two International Challenge titles.
It was also Barbados’ fourth consecutive victory and 11th over Trinidad and Tobago in their last 21 first-class encounters. The visitors have won six while there were four drawn matches during that period.
Starting the day on 140 for four, still 119 runs in arrears, Trinidad and Tobago lost their captain Denesh Ramdin for 18, trapped leg before wicket to West Indies pacer Kemar Roach, who had the same batsman dropped by Sulieman Benn at first slip in his previous over.
Ramdin’s departure ended an 83-run fifth-wicket stand which was dominated by the rampaging Simmons, who smacked two more fours and also lifted Cummins over long-off for his eighth six.
However, Simmons, who wasn’t allowed to attack the bowling in the same cavalier manner as when he sped to a 53-ball tenth first-class century, was undone by a peach of a delivery from the deceptive Carter, which kissed the edge of the bat as it swung and bounced.
Wicket-keeper Steven Katwaroo batted positively to hit three boundaries in a knock of 34 but gifted his wicket in the final over before lunch. Attempting to go over the top, he was deceived by a slower ball from Searles and skied a catch to Roach at mid-off.
From a lunch time position of 217 for seven, Trinidad and Tobago added a further 20 runs as Searles trapped Rayad Emrit and Shannon Gabriel in front while Cummins removed Marlon Richards, leaving Imran Khan not out on 14.
