ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Another weekend of absorbing rivalries awaits fans in the fifth round of matches of the West Indies Championship, starting on Thursday.

The return of West Indies left-hander Shimron Hetmyer to the Championship will add further interest to the contest between Windward Islands Volcanoes and five-time defending champions Guyana Jaguars at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.

“Live” scoring of all matches is available on the www.windiescricket.com website.

Webcasts of all matches are available on the Windies YouTube Channel and you can subscribe to receive pre-play alerts.

But the main act of the round will be at Kensington Oval, where new leaders Barbados Pride will have extending their three-match winning streak on their minds, when they face arch-rivals Trinidad & Tobago Red Force.

And, the Championship returns to the Trelawny Multipurpose Complex for the first time in 11 years, when Jamaica Scorpions hosts Leeward Islands Hurricanes in a scrap to get out of the bottom of the table.

Scorpions vs Hurricanes in Florence Hall, Jamaica

The toss could prove vital in this contest with few significant matches played at this venue in the recent past and neither side having enough intimate knowledge of the condition of the pitch.

Hosts Scorpions will not let that trouble them too much, entering the match with a huge boost of confidence, after their come-from-behind victory over the Jaguars in the previous round.

At the same time, the Hurricanes’ suffered another setback to their campaign, when the Pride beat them by an innings and 81 runs and they sunk to their third loss this season.

Bowling appears to be the strength for both sides, but it will be gaining a measure of solidity from the batting that could ultimately turn the match in favour of either team.

There will be a rivalry within this rivalry between incumbent West Indies Test left-handed opener John Campbell, the Scorpions captain, and his predecessor Kieran Powell of the Hurricanes, which could be the spark the batting line-ups need.

There could also be fireworks in the bowling, where Jamaican leg-spinner Damion Jacobs, one of the Hurricanes’ draft choices, will be looking to prove himself against his former teammates in tandem with West Indies off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall.

Jacobs has taken 192 Championship wickets and would relish getting the chance to get the eight scalps he needs for 200 against the Scorpions, who will be looking for another big performance from off-spinner Peat Salmon, their match-winner against the Jaguars.

All 10 matches between the two sides in the PCL era of the Championship have been won, with the Scorpions holding a 6-4 edge.

The Hurricanes will be reassured, however, that they can overcome the hosts on the road, having beaten them last year in this corresponding fixture, albeit at Sabina Park in the Jamaica capital of Kingston.

Squads:

SCORPIONS (from): John Campbell (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Assad Fudadin, Derval Green, Patrick Harty Jr, Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Nicholson Gordon, Paul Palmer Jr, Peat Salmon, Denis Smith, Oraine Williams

Unchanged

HURRICANES (from): Jahmar Hamilton (captain), Colin Archibald, Sheno Berridge, Rahkeem Cornwall, Nino Henry, Montcin Hodge, Damion Jacobs, Amir Jangoo, Jaison Peters, Kieran Powell, Ross Powell, Devon Thomas, Terance Warde

IN–R. Powell; OUT–Quinton Boatswain

UMPIRES: Verdayne Smith, Deighton Butler (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)

MATCH REFEREE: Denovan Hayles

RESERVE UMPIRE: Collin Bryan

Pride vs Red Force in Bridgetown, Barbados

Pride are flying high following a big win against the Hurricanes that catapulted them to the top of the standings.

Collecting another huge haul of points to put distance between themselves and the remaining teams will be vital in their bid to be able to break the spell at the end of the Championship of being the bridesmaids for the last five seasons.

But the Pride could have their hands full with a Red Force side that wants to get their season back on track, after a couple of setbacks.

The visitors managed to hold onto a place in mid-table after the previous round, when the weather rendered their match against Volcanoes a draw.

This match too, has a number of sub-plots with the battle between the pacers of the Pride and the spinners of the Red Force likely to hold centre stage.

Former West Indies Under-19 World Cup-winning fast bowler Chemar Holder is currently the leading pacer in the Championship.

He has formed a lethal partnership with Keon Harding, the leading bowler overall in the Colonial Medical Super50 Cup this past November.

Holder and Harding have accounted for 32 wickets for the Pride, and with West Indies pacer Kemar Roach likely to return to the line-up, the Pride pace attack will have a razor-sharp edge.

But left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and off-spinner Bryan Charles have caught the eyes of the senior West Indies selection panel in the recent past and they too, have been very effective for the Red Force this season, sharing 35 scalps.

This all means the batsmen on both teams will have to be at their very best. Red Force have accumulated the highest number of batting points this season and Pride the second highest, so it will be fascinating to see which side stands up to the test.

Pride hold the advantage in the head-to-head results, winning six of the 10 matches in the PCL era, but Red Force can hang their hopes on a victory in the 2016-17 season under the lights at this same venue.

A number of players stand on the threshold of personal milestones which could be accomplished in the match, if they are selected:

• Yannic Cariah (Red Force) has taken 49 Championship wickets and needs one more for 50
• Justin Greaves (Pride) has taken 46 Championship wickets and needs four more for 50
• Akiel Hosein (Red Force) has taken 47 Championship wickets and needs three more for 50
• Kevin Stoute (Pride) has taken 147 Championship wickets and needs 3 more for 150, and
• Jomel Warrican (Pride) has taken 195 Championship wickets and needs 5 more for 200.

Squads:

PRIDE (from): Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Camarie Boyce, Shamarh Brooks, Shane Dowrich, Dominic Drakes, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Chemar Holder, Kyle Mayers, Shayne Moseley, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Kevin Stoute

IN–Roach; OUT–Jonathan Carter

RED FORCE (from): Yannick Ottley (captain), Yan­nic Cari­ah, Bryan Charles, Joshua da Sil­va, Ter­rance Hinds, Akeal Ho­sein, Kissoondath Magram, Jason Mohammed, Uth­man Muhammad, Denesh Ramdin, Kea­gan Sim­mons, Je­re­my Solozano, Daniel St. Clair

Unchanged

UMPIRES: Johnathan Blades, Patrick Gustard (Jamaica)

MATCH REFEREE: Stephen Proverbs

RESERVE UMPIRE: Kevin Sisnett

Volcanoes vs Jaguars in St. George’s, Grenada

Hetmyer has only played twice in the Championship in the past two seasons and the Jaguars, looking to regain stability following their loss in the previous round, will be glad to have him add depth to their batting.

Last season, he made 26 and 61 against these same opponents in his only appearance in an eight-wicket victory for the Jags on home soil at the Guyana National Stadium.

But it is the Spice Isle that provides the backdrop for this weekend’s contest, after the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) in St. Lucia had played hosts to the two teams for the last four seasons, and the Volcanoes will be hoping that the change of scenery means a change of fortunes for them against these opponents.

Volcanoes have not beaten the Jaguars, since Rawl Lewis’ side beat Travis Dowlin’s by 151 runs a little over 11 years ago at the Guyana National Stadium and this will be a huge motivation for them.

The main storyline will be if the home team can exploit any vulnerability of the visitors to break the drought or will the Jaguars roar back to life and send a strong message to the contenders for their throne.

Of the 10 matches between the two sides in the PCL era, Jaguars have won all but two – a draw four years ago at the DSCG and the first tied match ever in the Championship two years ago at the Guyana National Stadium.

A number of players stand on the threshold of personal milestones which could be accomplished in the match, if they are selected:

• Devendra Bishoo (Jaguars) has taken 243 Championship wickets and needs seven more for 250
• Keon Joseph (Jaguars) has taken 90 Championship wickets and needs 10 more for 100
• Raymon Reifer (Jaguars) has taken 140 Championship wickets and needs 10 more for 150, and
• Vishaul Singh (Jaguars) has scored 2,998 Championship runs and needs two more for 3,000.

Squads:

VOLCANOES (from): Kavem Hodge (captain), Alick Athanaze, Roland Cato, Keron Cottoy, Andre Fletcher, Ray Jordan, Shermon Lewis, Desron Maloney, Preston McSween, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Emmanuel Stewart, Bhaskar Yadram

IN–Yadram; OUT–Josh Thomas

JAGUARS (from): Leon Johnson (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Keon Joseph, Veerasammy Permaul, Raymon Reifer, Kevin Sinclair, Vishaul Singh, Nial Smith

IN-Hetmyer; OUT–Tevin Imlach
UMPIRES: Christopher Wright (Jamaica), Zahid Bassarath (Trinidad & Tobago)

MATCH REFEREE: Carlyle Felix

RESERVE UMPIRE: Ericson Degallerie

Source: CWI Media