by EZRA STUART

BARBADOS' CAPTAIN RYAN HINDS and Carib Carlton's leg-spinner Nikolai Charles topped the batting and bowling averages at the end of the seven preliminary rounds of matches in the shortened 2006 Banks Division 1 cricket competition.

Left-hander Hinds, who represents ICBL Empire, scored 301 runs from three completed innings in four matches at an average of 100.33 before embarking on the West Indies "A" team tour of England.

He is among six batsmen, teammates Jason Haynes and Jason Parris, Cable & Wireless' Randy Thomas, Sagicor UWI's Nekoli Parris and Super Centre Spartan's Wayne Blackman, who have scored two centuries during the season.

Leading bowler

Charles, who was the leading bowler in last year's Arawak Cement Cup, captured 48 wickets at an average of 10.45 each. He had six five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket matches.

Carlton's left-handed batsman Kirk Gibson had the highest aggregate of 544 runs at an average of 54.40 and he was followed by improving YMPC all-rounder Calvin Watson, who scored 502 runs.

Both Gibson and Watson recorded their maiden Division 1 century and would be fancying their chances of playing in the Arawak Cement Cup.

ESAF Pickwick's off-spinner Ryan Austin was the leading bowler with 56 wickets at 13.14 runs apiece. He took five wickets in an innings five times and also had one ten-wicket match haul.

Whereas Gibson and Watson were the only batsmen to reach 500 runs, eight others – Dayne Maynard (496), Kirk Edwards (480), Blackman (476), Jason Parris (465), Keegan Alleyne (459), Thomas (443), Haynes (421), and Nekoli Parris (403) – scored over 400 runs.

Apart from Austin and Charles, only BNB St Catherine's left-arm spinner Derick Bishop, with 46 wickets at 16.65 runs each, took more than 35 wickets. Bishop also scored 302 runs (average 33.55).

Other good all-round performances came from Jonathan Carter of Guardian General Barbados Youth "A" (362 runs, 27 wickets); YMPC's William Lashley (297 runs, 28 wickets); UWI's Shirley Clarke (296 runs, 24 wickets); Wanderers' Chris Humphrey (268 runs, 26 wickets); Maple's Renaldo Parris (274 runs, 25 wickets) and Khalid Springer (277 runs, 20 wickets) and St Catherine's Kenroy Williams (376 runs, 21 wickets).

*ezrastuart@ nationnews.com