NEW BARBADOS batsman Roston Chase will be representing Banks when the 2011 LIME Division 1 cricket season bowls off today without two of the island’s long-standing clubs: Wanderers and Police.
Chase, 19, was one of the Cave Shepherd Five Cricketers Of The Year for the 2010 season when he scored 705 runs and took 24 wickets with his off spin representing Guardian General Barbados Youth.
He will be up against his former Combermere and Barbados Youth teammate Jomel Warrican. Warrican, a left-arm spinner, will be turning out for ICBL Empire, Banks’ first series opponents, at Bank Hall.
Banks are now captained by improving all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite, who impressed in his debut first-class season this year for the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC).
But Banks will not have hard-hitting opener Martin Nurse, who has returned to the relegated Wanderers to play in the Upper Intermediate after one season at the Brewery.Empire will be without Barbados players Alcindo Holder, Kevin Stoute and Javon Searles, who are campaigning in Trinidad and Tobago.
Caribbean Lumber YMPC will benefit from the acquisition of former Sagicor UWI utility player Nekoli Parris but will be without their inspirational all-rounder Dwayne Smith, who is playing cricket in Trinidad, for their first match against BNB St Catherine at Beckles Road.
Joint champions Super Centre Spartan and UWI will oppose ESAF Pickwick and CGI Maple at Queen’s Park and Trents respectively – two flood-prone venues where the prospect of play will be remote should the weather forecast for showers hold true.
Pickwick will have Barbados pacer and West Indies World Cup reserve Tino Best in their line-up, while dropped West Indies left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn is in the Spartan line-up.
Jamar Phillips, a middle-order batsman and useful off-spinner, has joined Pickwick, as has swing-bowling all-rounder Jamal Phillips, formerly at Banks.Former CCC fast bowler Jason Bennett has returned to Spartan after being unable to find a place in the UWI team towards the end of last year’s season.
In other matches, the returning Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) will host Barbados Youth at Paragon, while TeleBarbados Carlton will entertain LIME at the Desmond Haynes Oval.
Carlton will have a new captain: swing-bowling all-rounder Khalid Springer, while LIME will be without new Windies T20 off-spinning all-rounder Ashley Nurse.
Empire’s left-handed batsman Antonio Greenidge and Barbados Youth’s left-arm seamer Ravindra Persaud have joined the BDF Sports Programme.
Barbados Youth will be without captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who has been called into the West?Indies’ 15-man Test squad. However, they will have batsman Neil Browne and off-spinner?Daniel Rogers, who represented St Catherine and Pickwick respectively last year.
