Barbados Cricket Association article.
Bridgetown, Barbados - Barbados' two oldest clubs, Wanderers and Pickwick, square off at Kensington Oval tonight in the second semi-final of the Sagicor General Twenty20 Championship.
They combine for 271 years.
Founded in 1877 and now known as CounterPoint Wanderers, the Dayrells Road team will be seeking to reach the big stage for a second straight season, while ESA Field Pickwick, born in 1882, are desperate to book a place in the Final for the first time in the eight-year Tournament.
Kensington Oval was Pickwick's home ground for over a century but they are now based at Foursquare Oval in St. Philip, just on the border with Christ Church.
So much for history.
The winners will oppose Sagicor Life UWI in the Final on July 10.
Pickwick are not only unbeaten this season but also are the only side to win all of their matches on the field (UWI had a default win in the preliminaries), while Wanderers lost twice in five matches in Zone 'B'.
In terms of top players missing either because of duties with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) or contracts in the United Kingdom, Wanderers are marginally the more affected team.
They will be without West Indies fast bowling all-rounder Jason Holder (Barbados Tridents), batting all-rounder Raymon Reifer (St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots) and discarded West Indies batsman Kirk Edwards (playing league cricket in England).
Absent from Pickwick are new West Indies Test batsman Shai Hope, who also keeps wicket (Barbados Tridents) and former West Indies fast bowler Tino Best (playing in England for Lashings).
Wanderers, however, welcome back West Indies Test opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who played in the first two matches.
Kyle Hope, the Pickwick captain, is well on course for finishing with the most runs in the Championship. He has 293 (ave: 58.60) and is just six runs short of overtaking the Massy United Insurance Wildey left-hander David Carter, who created a new record of hitting two consecutive centuries en route to finishing with an average of 99.33.
Hope is, however, still a long way off the record for the most runs in a season - 425 (ave: 42.50) in 11 matches by Empire and Barbados all-rounder Kevin Stoute, in 2012.
Wanderers were victims of Spartan by eight wickets in last year's Final, while Pickwick went under by 18 runs to Spartan in the semi-finals.
Comments
Kyle Hope (Pickwick captain)
"We are expecting a tough challenge from a good Wanderers team. However, the guys really want to push past this stage after being knocked out in the semi-finals last year.
"The vibe in the camp is a good one and everyone is ready to give a great fight tonight."
Ricky Clarke (Wanderers coach)
"We will fight to be back into the Final. We came close to winning last year. We respect our opponents and are willing to accept whatever is the outcome."
Teams (from)
Pickwick - Kyle Hope (captain), Craig St. Hill, Jamal Phillips, Rohan Ryan, Shane Jones, Dreu Glasgow, Jared Gilkes, Romelle Small, Raymond Bynoe, Zahir Motara, Ryan Arthur, Clint St. Hill, Rey Matthews.
Wanderers - Diego Stuart (captain), Roshon Primus, Jason Greene, Kraigg Brathwaite, Renaldo Arthur, Stefanus "Fanie" deVilliers, Nikolai Charles, Chad Clarke-Reifer, Shakeem Clarke, Akeem Lynch, Kemar Craigg, Jerome Stuart, Craig Holder, Mali Marshall, Jabarry Nicholls.
Umpires: Patrick Grazette, Leslie Reifer Jr. Reserve: Michael Nurse.
Match referee: Stephen Proverbs.
Start: 7 p.m.
First Published On bcacricket.org.