Barbados conquers the Caribbean cricket with a T20 Blaze title

Barbados comfortably beat Guyana by 8-wickets to clinch 2018/19 Women's T20 Blaze. Barbados have also won Women's Super50 which asserts their domination in the Caribbean cricket.

Barbados, Leeward Islands, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Windward Islands competed for the Women's Blaze T20 trophy played in Guyana. All the matches were played at Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Barbados won their all 5 games to win the title comfortably.

Round 1

The competition kicked off on 28th March with a match between Barbados and Leeward Islands. Barbados won the toss and elected to bat. Skipper Hayley Matthews smashed 45 (23b) and a whirlwind knock of 63 (23b) by Deandra Dottin helped Barbados to post a mammoth total of 206/6 in 20 overs. Matthews also picked up 2 wickets as Leeward Island could only manage 107/5 in 20 overs to hand Barbados a massive 99-run victory.

In the second match on the same day Trinidad & Tobago beat Guyana by 5-wickets. Guyana won the toss and elected to bat. Thanks to Shemaine Campbelle's 77 (56b) Guyana put up 157/4 in 20 overs. However, a steady knock by Stacy Ann King 59 (48b) and swashbuckling batting by Britney Cooper who scored an unbeaten 52 (26b) made sure Trinidad & Tobago win the match easily with 8 balls to spare.

To cap off round 1 of the matches, Jamaica played against Windward Island in the third match of the day. Jamaica won the toss and elected to bat. Superb batting was displayed by the openers Natasha Mclean 56 (49b) and Jodian Morgan 72 (57b) who put up a 123-run stand for the opening wicket. At the end of 20 overs Jamaica posted 185/2 and won the match comfortably by 62 runs as Windward Island only managed 123/8 despite Juliana Nero's fighting 61 (48b).

At the end of round 1, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica all had 3 points each.

Round 2

Second round of matches kicked off on 29th March as Guyana took on Leeward Islands. Guyana won the toss and elected to bat first. They could only score 146/7 thanks to Campbelle's 31 (32b) and 26 Extra runs. Leeward Island could not take advantage as they collapsed for 123 all out in their 20 overs despite Liburd's 41 and Parker's 26. Giddings, Millington and Grimmond picked up 3-wickets each for Guyana as they won the match comfortably by 23 runs.

Second fixture between Windward Island and Trinidad & Tobago was decided by D/L method. Windward Island won the toss and elected to bat. They reached 59/3 in 9.4 overs when the game was interrupted and Trinidad & Tobago were given a revised target of 58 runs to win. King's 25 (17b) and Cooper's unbeaten 23 (18b) saw the target achieved in 7.5 overs.

In the third fixture Barbados crushed Jamaica by 9-wickets thanks to all-round performance by Matthews. Barbados won the toss and elected to field. Stafanie Taylor led Jamaica were bundled for 95 runs Matthews picked up 4-25. Apart from 20 extra runs, only Williams reached the double figures of 28. Barbados chased the target in 11.3 overs as Matthews scored an unbeaten 58 (42b).

At the end of round 2, Barbados along with Trinidad & Tobago were leading the race with 6 points each. Guyana and Jamaica followed by 3 points each.

Round 3

In the first fixture on 31st March, Guyana and Jamaica met to start the round 3. Jamaica won the toss and elected to bat. Despite Smartt's 44 (36b), Guayana could only reach 114/8 as Nation and Watts picked up 3 wickets each. Stafanie Taylor's 48 (57b) went in vain as Jamaica were all out for 94 runs. Thompson and Giddings were instrumental in this close 20-run victory to Guyana as they claimed 3 wickets each.

Barbados and Windward Island played the second fixture of the day. Matthews starred again as she picked up 3 wickets to restrict Windward Island for 131/4 in 20 overs. She delivered with the bat as well by smashing 45 (27b). Dottin's 42 (29b) ensured a comfortable 7-wicket victory for Barbados, thus completing hat-trick of wins.

Third fixture of the round saw a one-sided affair as Leeward Island were all out for 66 after choosing to bat first. Trinidad & Tobago chased the target in only 7.1 overs at loss of one wicket thanks to King's undefeated 43 (25b).

At the end of round 3, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago led the pack with 9 points. Guyana and Jamaica followed them with  6 and 3 points each.

Round 4

The penultimate round began on 2nd April with the top of the table clash between Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago in the first game. Barbados won the toss and elected to field. Trinidad & Tobago were restricted to 136/6 despite King's 30 (26b), Cooper's 31 (24) and Aguilleira's unbeaten 29 (26). Dottin smashed an unbeaten 52 (32b) and Knight supported her with 33 (23b) to chase the target in 15.3 overs. Barbados claimed a 7-wicket victory and cemented their place at the top of the table.

In the second fixture Jamaica won by 10-wickets against Leeward Island. Batting first after winning the toss, Leeward Island were all out for 61 runs. Mclean and Morgan took only 6.4 overt to chase the target.

The third fixture saw Guayana securing another close victory over Windward Island to set up an exciting final round of fixtures. Thanks to Smartt's 40 and Campbelle's 28, Guyana posted a low score of 105/8 in 20 overs. Gidding took 3 wickets to restrict Windward Island to 88 runs to secure a 18-run victory.

At the end of round 4, Barbados raced ahead with 12 points, Guyana joined Trinidad & Tobago at second position with 9 points each. Jamaica remained at fourth position with 6 points.

Final Round

In the final round Guyana needed to beat Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago had to beat Jamaica to ensure a 3-way tie at top of the table.

The first fixture between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica gave the opportunity to Trinidad to join the top of position on points. Jamaica won the toss and elected to field. Equal contribution with the bat by King, Cooper, Mohammed and Vincent saw Trinidad & Tobago post 145/6 after 20 overs. Despite a shaky start, Nation 66 (53b) and Henry 44 (21b) posted a blistering 90-run partnership in just 8.1 overs to win the game by 7-wickets. This defeat dashed any hopes for Trinidad & Tobago to clinch the championship

The second fixture was between Windward Island and Leeward Island, both the teams at bottom of the table with no victories against their name. Windward Island scored 115/8 in 20 overs and restricted Leeward Island to 104/9 to secure a 11 run win to open their points account.

The third and final fixture between Barbados and Guyana was virtually a grandstand final where Guyana had to beat Barbados handsomely to make any last ditch attempt to nick the trophy. Barbados, however showed no signs of nerves and bowled superbly after Guyana opting to bat first. Matthews and Selman picked up 2 wickets each to restrict Guyana to only 85 runs after 20 overs. Chasing 86 to win, Knight remained unbeaten on 30 (28b) and Dottin smashed an unbeaten 37 (27b) to ensure a comfortable 8-wicket victory with 23 balls to spare.

At the end of the final round, Barbados won the championship with 5 wins in 5 matches and 15 points on board. Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana finished below the champions with 9 points each and Windward Island were placed last with 3 points.