ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Guyana Jaguars were confirmed as winners of the 2017-18 Digicel 4-Day Championship, after their nearest rivals Barbados Pride settled for a draw with Windward Islands Volcanoes in their rain-affected match on Sunday.
Jaguars completed a nail-biting, two-wicket victory over Jamaica Scorpions inside three days in their eighth-round match on Saturday at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, taking them to an unassailable 135 points – with two rounds of games remaining.
It is the fourth straight Headley/Weekes Trophy, symbol of WINDIES first-class supremacy, for the Jaguars, following in the footsteps of previous incarnations of the Pride and Scorpions.
“As you can imagine, it’s a very good feeling for us to win the title for a fourth straight year,” said Jaguars captain Leon Johnson. “I am someone that delves into the history of the game – Barbados would have achieved this in the late 1970s, and Jamaica did it between 2008 and 2012.
“We are only the third team to have achieved something like this in WINDIES first-class history. It is very pleasing to be part of it and to be at the helm for the fourth consecutive year of us winning this title. It is testament to our hard work. We have won it with two matches remaining, which is a feat in itself.”
Barabdo Pride – second in the table on 75.2 points before the match – gained three batting points, three bowling points and 1.6 pace bowling points, moving them to 82.8 points – and no hope of surpassing the Jaguars in the final two rounds of matches.
Volcanoes – last on 52.2 points entering the match – earned three bowling points and two batting points, plus 1.2 pace bowling points, taking them to 58.4 points.