Steady Pride, erupting Volcanoes settle score today

By Clifton Ross

With a win each in the early stages of the tournament, the finals of the 2018 Regional Super50 Cup will see either the Windward Volcanoes or defending champs Barbados Pride hoisting the Clive Lloyd Cup tonight at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Both sides hold victories over each other at the Group stage earlier in the tournament in Barbados with the hosts and defending champions crushing the Volcanoes by 100 runs before the Windwards would erupt a few days later to whip the champs by 22-runs.
Barbados disposed of the red-hot Kent Spitfires in the first semis to claim the first spot in the finals while on the other hand the Volcanoes were tasked with battling competition favorites and reigning 4-Day champs Guyana Jaguars who were seemingly on the verge of finally adding elusive the Super50 title to their collection.
Tyrone Theophile’s ton and Man-of-the-match Kavem Hodge’s 3-48 along with his half-century; were enough to put the hungry Jags down, thus sealing the second spot in the finals for their team.
With both finalists in form, it will be a clash of the franchise that makes the least mistakes and given Coolidge’s recent history, the batsmen on both sides will be tasked with scoring big come Saturday.
Although slightly depleted due to players having international assignments, the star-studded Pride still have two batters in the leading run-scorer list, with West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase sitting in the top spot with 514 runs and skipper Kraigg Brathwaite with 264 runs.
Along with West Indies limited overs player Jonathan Carter, veteran Kevin Stoute and a few others, Barbados will fancy their chances of posting a formidable total or chasing a big one for a repeat of the title they won last year at the same venue.
Volcanoes on the other hand, have just one batsman in the top 10, opener Devon Smith who racked up more than 1000 runs in the Regional 4-Dayers and trails hopes on the list at number six with his 288 runs.
Smith, along with Theophile, Hodge, Kirk Edwards and West Indies opener Johnson Charles and all-rounder Kyle Mayers will play a key role for their team. Bowling-wise, both teams have been doing well with the ball as off-spinner Shane Shillingford leads the bowling chart for the Volcanoes with 21 wickets while Mayers seals off 10th place with 19 wickets.
The Pride have lost some sting in their bowling department, losing frontline pacers Miguel Cummins and Kemar Roach along with off-spinner Ashley Nurse to international duties as the West Indies embark on their World Cup qualifiers campaign.
After much deliberation on whom the two finals team will be, the veil of smoke has lifted after weeks of intense cricket and the two best teams will now meet under lights at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua with bowl off set for 14:00h local time with live coverage on ESPN.