CCC beat Barbados

CAVE HILL, Barbados (CMC):

An unbeaten 78 from their captain Omar Phillips propelled Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) to a five-wicket victory over Barbados yesterday, and first place as the preliminary competition in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-day Tournament draws to a close.

The left-handed opener struck eight fours and one six from 156 balls in close to 3 3/4 hours, as CCC, chasing 173 for victory, reached their target about 45 minutes after lunch on the third day of their seventh round match at the Three Ws Oval.

Phillips formalised the result with a six over long-off from the bowling of leg-spinner Shamarh Brooks, to usher CCC to their fourth victory, in their most successful season since entering the competition three years ago.

"We wanted to come out on top against Barbados," said Phillips. "Matches against them, for obvious reasons, are always competitive.

"It was a low-scoring match, but I do not think the pitch was as bad as the totals of the two teams suggest. The batsmen simply did not apply themselves and everybody tried to rush the game and not relax and play it like a serious four-day game."

The result meant that the CCC ended the preliminary competition with an unassailable 57 points to confirm their place in the semi-finals, where they will face Windward Islands, starting on Friday at the Three Ws Oval.

For Barbados, one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory ended with their only defeat of the season and they finished on 27 points, erasing their slim chances of reaching the Final Four.