CCC, England Lions clash at Cave Hill

CAVE HILL, Barbados (CMC):

Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) have found themselves in an unlikely place in the WICB regional first-class championship, and want to keep it that way, after they face England Lions in the top-of-the-table clash in the fourth round of matches, starting today at the Three Ws Oval.

CCC and the Lions, as well as three-time defending champions Jamaica, all have 24 points, but the home team has effectively risen to the top of the eight-team table ahead of the visitors, under the tiebreaker rules of the competition.

CCC have gained the edge by virtue of their second victory for the season in the previous round, when they crushed Leeward Islands by 158 runs in Antigua. They also beat Windward Islands by 33 runs in their opening match.

The Lions do not qualify for the semi-finals and the final of the competition, so their place in the table does not really matter, but they would still want to finish at the top of the league to prove their superiority over regional opposition, and a strong result in this match would contribute to this.

Tough contest

They gained first innings points from Trinidad and Tobago in their drawn match from the previous round in one of their toughest contests on this trip so far.

They are not likely to face such stern opposition over the next four days, since CCC have scraped their way through to the top, having also lost their second round match against Trinidad and Tobago this season.

Both sides have kept the nucleus of players that have served them well so far this season, but CCC were boosted with the arrival of former Jamaica Under-19 captain and batsman Shacoya Thomas, and the Lions with the return of fast bowler Steve Finn from travels with the senior England squad.

Thomas may force his way into the side for injured player/coach Floyd Reifer.

'Very elated'

"I am very elated, as this will be the first opportunity for me at the senior level, and I am going to grab this opportunity with both hands, as I have been training hard, and I knew this would have come one day," he told The Gleaner.

Finn is likely to line up alongside leading bowler Jade Dernbach and England discard Liam Plunkett to form a lethal fast-bowling attack.

The Three Ws Oval pitch has been known to play typically slow, but there were signs in the match against the Windwards that the groundstaff, under former Barbados all-rounder Neil Phillips, had breathed some life into the surface.

Two other games start today. They are Guyana versus Barbados at the Guyana National Stadium, and Windward Islands versus Trinidad and Tobago at the Arnos Vale Multi-Purpose Complex.