Barbados and Leewards Islands clash in first semi

Kingston - Barbados are to play in tomorrow's first Red Stripe Bowl semifinal against the Leeward Islands at Sabina Park. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday confirmed that the Windward Islands emerged Zone "B" winners following a three-way tie on points and number of wins that also involved the Leewards and Guyana.

Net run-rates were used to determine the top placings and, as reported by NATIONSPORT yesterday, the Windwards had the best net run-rate followed by the Leewards and Guyana.

Barbados and Jamaica finished Zone "A" with the same number of points and wins but Barbados were declared zone winners by virtue of beating Jamaica in the preliminaries.

In semifinal matches, zone winners meet the runners-up of the opposite zone.

The second semifinal will bring together Jamaica and the Windwards on Saturday, while the final is set for Sunday. Monday is a reserve day for the final.

Since the competition started in 1997 under the sponsorship of Jamaican company, Desnoes & Geddes, the Final Four was played at the Kaiser Sports Club in Discovery Bay on Jamaica's north coast.

This year, however, both semifinals and the final will be contested at Sabina Park, which is located in the capital city.

In announcing the semi-final match-ups, the WICB also named the umpires assigned to the matches. Test umpire Eddie Nicholls of Guyana and Norman Malcolm of Jamaica will perform duties in the first semifinal, while Montserratian Basil Morgan and Jamaican Thomas Wilson will officiate in the second semifinal.

The final will be shared by Nicholls and Morgan.