Windward Cricket Club came out on top when they hosted Wanderers Cricket Club in a friendly warm-up match on Saturday August 1st. Sporting new uniforms for the 2020 season, the Sagicor supported side won the toss and opted to put the visitors into bat under sunny skies. Opening the bowling for the green and gold was Vice Captain Shae Branch from the southern end, who allowed 6 runs in his first over, and another 4 in his second, ending the day with 0/10, and opting to give bowling opportunities to the rest of the side. From the northern end, Dindial Ramrattan also had two overs with the ball, giving up 19 runs in his first over, but managed to reign it in, allowing a further 2 runs, and taking a wicket when he ran out Ronnico Ross.
New comer to Windward, Liam Luke, was then given his opportunity with the ball and bowled three overs from the south, claiming his first wicket at the end of the first over having only allowed 3 runs, and ending the day with figures of 1/14. Returning to play for Windward in his second season, Ronaldo 'Callie' Callender, continued his fine bowling from last season, taking 3 wickets in the three overs he bowled, with respectable figures of 3/15 on the day. Sean Merritt was given the opportunity with the ball in the eleventh over when he took over the attack from the northern end, ending the day with 0/18 in his three overs, despite struggling to get into his groove. Sean Thornton took over duties from the south, and held the visitors to a paltry 8 runs during his two overs. Chris St.Hill replaced Thornton from the southern end, giving up 7 runs in his first over, a further 2 in his second, then a further 19 on his third, ending with 0/28 on the day. Lamar 'Bruiser' Springer rounded out the bowling attack on the day giving up 6 runs in each of his 2 overs and Wanderers having scored 129/5 in their allotted 20 overs, with Daren Cuffy making 45 and Jared Lovell 25.
Opening the batting for the Lucas Street side were the pair of Alan Branch and new comer, Josh Walker. Branch quickly signalled his intentions when he hit the second ball he faced into the tennis courts for 6 runs. However his enthusiasm was quickly tempered when he was dismissed Leg Before Wicket 6 balls later and returned to the clubhouse with 8 runs in eight minutes and the score on 10/1. Taking Branch's place at the crease was team captain, Sean Thornton, who got off the mark hitting a ball to the boundary for 4 on the fourth ball he faced. Thornton and Walker settled in, and took the score to 68, when Walker was bowled by Anthony Manning-Merritt in the eleventh over, having made 27 runs off of 23 balls despite having dislocating his shoulder the week prior. Next to the crease was Shae Branch, who hit two boundaries, one of them a six, before being bowled by Ricardo Went in the fifteenth, having made 14 from 11 balls faced, and the score on 92. With five overs remaining, and 38 runs required, Lamar 'Bruiser' Springer joined Thornton at the pitch and made a quick single on the first ball faced before hitting a six, two balls later. Windward beat Wanderers by two wickets, making 130/3 in 18 overs, with Thornton scoring 63 not out, and Springer 13 not out from 8 balls.
Club President, Richard Cox stated "It was good to see some new faces in the team ... .They, along with our established players have the potential to become a very competitive 20/20 team. The team spirit and performance today was very encouraging." His thoughts were echoed by the new arrivals to the green and gold. Having not played competitively for eight years since leaving Wanderers, Liam Luke said "It was actually a great feeling making my debut for Windward yesterday. It is a lovely place to play cricket with a comfortable and easy environment. I look forward to playing many more games for the club." Sean Merritt added "I think we have the potential to do well this season. We just need to work on a few details." Chris St. Hill, who represented the Barbados Community College for the past five seasons, had this to say "First off let me say thank you for allowing me to play with you guys, and I look forward to playing with you this season and many seasons to come. The camaraderie here is great, and I have felt welcome from my first practice day." Josh Walker said "The guys played with high intensity through out the whole match and played well as a unit."
The BCA season is slated to begin on August 15th.
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