CRICKET:- Crucial clash for Jamaica GEORGETOWN, CANA : BARBADOS WILL fancy their chances of maintaining the lead in the 2001 West Indies Under-19 cricket tournament when they square off with joint fourth placed Leeward Islands in one of three third round matches, starting today. The Barbadians, despite dropping first innings points to Trinidad and Tobago, are out front with 20 points. Jamaica, who rebounded from an outright first round loss to Barbados, are on 16, the same as Trinidad and Tobago, with hosts Guyana on 12, followed by the Leeward Islands and defending champions Windward Islands in the cellar position with eight. The Barbados/Leewards encounter will be played at the Wales Community Centre, a venue being used for the first time for regional cricket while Trinidad and Tobago take on the Windward Islands at the Diamond Community Centre and hosts Guyana return to Bourda where they oppose Jamaica. The Guyana/Jamaica clash at Bourda will be crucial for both teams after their inconsistent performances to date. Jamaica rebounded superbly from their first round outright loss to Barbados by inflicting an eight-wicket defeat on the Leewards while Guyana gained first innings points over the Windwards after conceding first innings to Trinidad and Tobago. Opener Donovan Pagon, one of the graduates from the West Indies Cricket Board Shell Academy in St George's Grenada, has been a class above his teammates with innings of 84 against Barbados and 121 versus the Leewards. Fast bowler Dwight Washington has already earned the reputation of being the fastest bowler in the tournament but may not find the Bourda pitch to his liking, leaving spinners Wayne Simpson and Lorenzo Ingram to do the bulk of the bowling. Quoted here as having the best batting side in the tournament, the Guyana players have not lived up to that reputation to date. Wicket-keeper and opening batsman Derwyn Christian led against the Windwards with a dashing 76 but it took number nine Adrian Persaud, picked more for his leg-spin bowling, to shore up the lower-order with a top score of 88. The bowling and fielding continue to be a worry for the Guyanese. Unlike previous years when the spinners were the heroes for Guyana, they lacked penetration this year. Fast medium bowler Jeremiah Harris has been the find for the Guyanese but his lack of genuine pace could make him innocuous on a placid Bourda pitch. Despite being the front-runners, there is still some cause for worry in the Barbadian camp, especially in the batting department. Apart from ferocious middle-order batsman Alcindo Holder, who smashed an even hundred against Jamaica in the first round and was unbeaten on 47 in the second innings versus Trinidad and Tobago, no other Barbadian has recorded a half-century to date. Skipper Rohan Nurse and Dwayne Smith, both in their third year in the tournament, are still to establish themselves at this level and will need to bolster the Barbados middle-order if they are to build a big total. The bowling has been quite steady with left-arm spinner Derek Bishop and fast bowler Jason Bennett taking over where leg-spinner Ryan Layne and off-spinner Ryan Wiggins left off in the first round. The Leewards, who started off with first innings points against the Windwards, suffered a severe blow when they were humiliated by Jamaica at Uitvlugt. Opener Dillon Webbe was the only shining light in the first innings with another solid half-century to follow the one against the Windwards. The big disappointment was Chaka Hodge, who has moved up to the opening slot after batting in the middle last year. Trinidad and Tobago's ultra-defensive tactics in both rounds have probably robbed them of being the current leaders with the maximum 32 points. Enjoying a big lead against Guyana in the first round, the Trinidadians chose to bat almost until tea on the final day, setting the home team an impossible 304 runs for an outright win in a possible 37 overs. They again led Barbados by 72 runs on first innings and instead of pressing home the advantage by batting positively in the second innings, batted dourly for 83.4 overs and 115 all out. Off-spinner Amit Jaggernath continued where he left off in the first round with another impressive performance, claiming his second consecutive five-wicket first innings haul and should prove a handful for the Windwards batting. The Windwards have however proved that they are capable of resolute batting right down the order after staving off a Guyana quest for victory on the last day of their second round match at Enmore. Left-handed middle-order batsman Sergio Fedee came good finally, in his third year, with a fine unbeaten 83 while the openers, Gaspard Prosper and Gavin Roberts also batted well.
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