Div 1 back in play

AFTER A break of two weeks to soak up all the various activities surrounding the Crop-Over season, it is back to the middle this afternoon for the cricketers in all divisions of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) competitions.As expected, the main focus will be on the LIME Division 1 Championship which will see the start of the fifth series of matches at noon today.Table leaders Super Centre Spartan, on 50 points, travel to Trents to take on CGI Maple on 33 points. Both sides should be bolstered by the return of Barbados and West Indies players Sulieman Benn and Kemar Roach from the just ended Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament. At Cane Garden, second-placed LIME, with 46 points, will meet Guardian General Barbados Youth, who are at the bottom of the pack on 14 points.
ExpectationsBarbados Twenty20 debutant off-spinner Ashley Nurse will be seeking to continue from where he left off in the regional tournament.Barbados Youth are sure to welcome back the nucleus of the side which returned home on Thursday from the TCL Group WICB Under-19 Championship in St Lucia.Barbados finished a reasonable third in both the three-day format and the knockout segment.TeleBarbados Carlton, joint third with BNB St Catherine on 41 points, host ESA Field Pickwick at the Desmond Haynes Oval.Carlton will be strengthened by the return of Barbados players Dale Richards and Carlo Morris, while Shai Hope comes back in for Pickwick after being with the Barbados Under-19 team.St Catherine, who were outplayed in the last match against Banks, tackle Wanderers at Dayrells Road. Wanderers’ line-up will feature a new man in Barbados and West Indies ‘A’ batsman Kirk Edwards, who comes over from Maple.
Key gameIn the feature match, defending champions Sagicor Life UWI, on 34 points and ICBL Empire, who are two points adrift, face off at the 3Ws Oval. UWI will have basically the nucleus of the side which represented Combined Campuses and Colleges in the Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament. On the other hand, Empire who were forced to field a weakened unit in the previous game against Maple when Ryan Hinds, Jason Hinds, Javon Searles, Alcindo Holder and Kevin Stoute were away on national duty, will breathe a sigh of relief now they are back. Police meet Caribbean Lumber YMPC at Weymouth. Dwayne Smith is back for YMPC and he will up against his new Barbados Twenty20 teammate Larry Babb.  In the battle of the spirits, Banks oppose newcomers Old Brigand Dover at the Brewery.
Standings
Spartan 50, LIME 46, Carlton 41, St Catherine 41, UWI 34, Maple 33, Empire 32, YMPC 27, Banks 26, Police 24, Wanderers 21, Dover 20, Pickwick 20, Barbados Youth 14.