Windies A seek series sweep

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):

After completely dominating England Lions in the first two four-day 'Tests', West Indies A will begin their quest for a clean sweep when the day-night final match bowls off at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here today.

Though confident before the start of the series, the hosts would hardly have dreamed of the dominance they have enjoyed, winning the opening 'Test' in Trelawny by two wickets and following up with an innings and 17-run victory inside three days in the second game in Kingston.

Newly installed head coach Floyd Reifer said the Caribbean side would be taking nothing for granted, however, even though they were focused on extending their winning streak.

"The guys are confident. Obviously, we're not going to underestimate the opposition. They're going to come hard at us because we've dented their pride. They came to the Caribbean thinking that it would have been an easy walkover," the former West Indies captain said.

In both matches, West Indies A dominated in all areas. At the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium, they led Lions by 27 runs on first innings after recovering from a dire situation of 114 for eight to reach 279 all out.

Lions then collapsed from 60 for one in their second innings to 132 all out, leaving Windies A with a straightforward target of 106 for victory.

At Sabina Park last week, Windies A bundled the visitors out for 145 in their first innings before piling up 422 in reply, and 260 in the Lions second innings failed to save them from defeat.

STRONG BATTING

Despite strong batting performances, which have seen hundreds from senior team gloveman Shane Dowrich and Jahmar Hamilton, Reifer said there was still need for bigger efforts at the top of the order.

Lions, with the likes of Test players Keaton Jennings, Toby Roland-Jones, and Mason Crane, had attracted the odds before the start of the series.

However, left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican has taken 20 wickets and off-spinning all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall, 14, to support a batting unit coming into its own, and deliver key results in the series.