KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – Front runners Barbados and Guyana maintained their unbeaten run in the Regional Under-19 50-over Championships, while Canada remained winless following the completion of the fourth round of matches here Thursday.
Barbados and Guyana each notched their third consecutive victories with wins over Canada and the Leeward Islands respectively.
After finishing second in the 4-day competition, Barbados continued their push for the title with a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Canada.
Canada could only muster 175 in 45.3 overs, with Barbados making light work of the target as they ended on 176 for two in 34.4 overs.
At one stage, Canada had looked set to post a competitive total, thanks to an 89-run second wicket partnership between opener Benjamin Calitz and Randhir Sandhu that saw them coasting at 99-1 early on.
But once Camarie Boyce removed Calitz for 36 and Sandhu followed four runs later for 42, Canada’s middle and lower order collapsed.
That collapse was led by spinner Joshua Bishop, who took three quick wickets as Canada crumbled to 144 for seven.
Boyce (4-28), was ably supported by Boyce who grabbed three wickets and Nyeem Young (2-23), as Canada eventually folded meekly.
A third wicket partnership between Antonio Morris, who stroked an unbeaten 54 and Nico Reifer who finished on 35 not out, comfortably carried Barbados to victory after they had been given a decent start.
Shian Brathwaite (17) and Mekhail Marshall who made 58, put on 45 runs in an opening stand, before Marshall and Reifer added another 45 runs for the second wicket.
Guyana comfortably defeated the Leeward Islands by 114 runs to stay on track with Barbados and set up a key clash on Saturday.
After posting 215 for eight in their 50 overs, they then restricted the Leewards to 101.
Guyana owed their eventual total to a 78-run sixth-wicket partnership between Javid Karim (39) and Junior Sinclair (36), who rescued them from the precarious position of 107 for five.
Qumar Torrington and Joshua Jones then tore through the Leewards top order to leave them with little chance of reaching their target.
Torrington accounted for the wickets of Elroy Francis and Uri Smith, while Jones snared Joshua Grant and Paul Miller to leave them stuttering on 20 for four.
Kevin Sinclair then joined in on the act, claiming three scalps as no batsman other than Zawandi White, who scored 53, showed any resistance.
There was also a win for the Windward Islands, who coincidentally also won by 114 runs over Trinidad and Tobago.
The Windwards posted the day’s highest total of 219 and then routed T&T for just 105.
Nathaniel McDavid (44), Avinash Mahabirsingh (39) and Justyn Gangoo, who made 24, mounted a serious lower order fightback for the Windwards after they had slumped to 84 for five.
Then in a sensational bowling performance, the Windwards’ opening pair of Jayden Seales and Joshua James dismissed T&T’s first four batsmen for ducks to practically seal the contest.
James finished with figures of 4-34, and with help from Justyn Gangoo who claimed 3 for 16, and Seales (2-16), they helped to wrap up T&T’s innings.