Four-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars are still in the lead for the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day Tournament.
The Leon Johnson-led Jaguars team top the points table with 85.6 points while Leewards Islands Hurricanes are in second position with 59.8 points. In the fifth round played at Providence, the Jaguars suffered a defeat for the third time. The last time the Guyana franchise lost was against the same Hurricanes team back in 2017.
Barbados Pride are in third position with 49.6 points while Windward Islands Volcanoes are in fourth position with 48.4 points. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are in fifth position with 33 points while the bottom-place team, Jamaica Scorpions, have 32.6 points.
Fresh off a century against the strong Guyana Jaguars team, Hurricanes opening batsman Montcin Hodge leads the batting chart with 470 runs at an astonishing average of 67.14, including two centuries and two half-centuries, in four matches. The Windwards Islands Volcanoes Team Captain Kirk Edwards is in second position with 371 runs, averaging 37 in five matches. Edwards has two half-centuries and one century which he scored against the Guyana Jaguars.
The solid Guyanese opener, Tagenarine Chanderpaul is third on the batmen’s list with 362 runs at an average of 51.74. Chanderpaul has one century and one half-century thus far and after five rounds, he has a strike rate of 24.77. The Amazon Warriors player, Chadwick Walton, who is representing the Jamaica Scorpions, has 359 runs in the four matches he played at an average of 44. Walton finally scored a century in the last round against the Volcanoes team, along with his two half-centuries.
Anthony Bramble, who had a poor fifth round, slipped to fifth position with 357 runs at an average of 71.40 while Devon Smith is once more amongst the runs with 346 runs after the four rounds he played. In the bowling department, Guyana Jaguars left-arm spinner, Veerasammy Permaul is the leading wicket-taker while fellow left-arm spinner Nikita Miller is in second.
Permaul has 28 wickets in five matches at a bowling average of 20.42 and an economy rate of 2.56. He continued his consistency at the regional level and this season, he has had one five-wicket haul. The top bowlers continued to be spinners, Rahkeem Cornwall is third on the list with 22 wickets in only three matches. Romario Shepherd is the leading fast bowler of the tournament, with 19 wickets.
With 19 wickets thus far, Shepherd has a bowling average of 20.21 with his best bowling figure being 4-36. Imran Khan (19) and Shane Shillingford (17) are on the list of the leading wicket-takers. All matches of the CWI Regional Four-Day Tournament will resume from January 31, 2019 with the sixth round. (Brandon Corlette)
