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Charles (72) warms up for Regional Super50
As Windwards beat Leewards in practice game
Twenty-two year-old Johnson Charles warmed up for the Regional Super50 cricket series in Guyana
West Indies batsman Johnson Charles goes over mid-off during his 72 for the Windwards against the Leewards at DCC yesterday (Sean Devers photo).
with an attractive 72 to lead the Windward Islands to a comfortable six-wicket win against the Leewards at the DCC ground yesterday in their first of two practice matches before the tournament starts on Wednesday.
The right-handed Charles, one of only three St Lucians to represent the West Indies senior team, played an array of audacious shots and favoured the sweep against the spinners as he smashed 11 fours and three sixes in his 72 and added 86 for the second wicket with Keddy Lesporis (42) as the Windwards reached 159-4 in 25.4 overs replying to the 157 all out in 34.4 overs made by the Leewards.
Charles, who made his Regional One-Day debut against CCC in Guyana in 2008 as a teenager, averages 24 from his 10 games at this level with one half-century and played against England in two t20 matches last month in England.
Yesterday he adjusted well to the slow pitch and a straight six off pacer Gavin Tongue was struck with nonchalant ease as he and Lesporis joined forces after Andre Fletcher, one of four players with West Indies experience in the Windwards team, was removed by Tongue for 16 at 52-1.
After Charles was caught behind off spinner Jacque Taylor at 138-2 and Jamaican born spinner Jason Campbell got rid of Lesporis six runs later, Liam Sebastian (5) was leg before to Taylor at 153-4 before Hyron Shallow (8*) struck consecutives boundaries to see the Windwards, with just two titles at this level, to victory.
Earlier, the Leewards, who played to a tie with Barbados in last year’s final in Jamaica to claim their fifth title, lost Chesney Hughes (39), Austin Richards (34), Javia Liburd (20) and his unrelated name-sake Steve Liburd (19) after they all failed to build on good starts in cool conditions in a game reduced to 35 overs per side due to rain.
West Indies t20 left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin, who has played just nine Regional One-Day games since making his debut in Trinidad in 2007, took 4-20 from six over and got support from 27-year-old Grenadian left-arm spinner Denis George (3-41) as the spinners enjoyed the slow surface on the small ground.
The teams will meet against at the same venue tomorrow in their final practice match before the Windwards face host Guyana in Zone ‘A’ at Providence in the opening round on Wednesday.
The Leewards face Jamaica at Providence in their first round match on Thursday in a zone ‘B’ clash.
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