ACS Oveseas First-Class Annual 2013

West Indies in 2012/13 After losing to top-ranked England 2-0 in England early in the 2012 season, West Indies embarked on their most successful run in Test cricket since 1988 by winning all six of their remaining Test matches in 2012 and 2012/13 - two each against New Zealand at home, Bangladesh away, and Zimbabwe at home. The return after lengthy absences of C.H.Gayle and the strikingly in-form M.N.Samuels greatly strengthened a batting line-up in which previously only S.Chanderpaul had shown much consistency, while the absence of a settled bowling attack was compensated for by the success of individual bowlers in each series – K.A.J.Roach and S.P.Narine against New Zealand, T.L.Best against Bangladesh, and in particular S.Shillingford against Zimbabwe (19 wickets in two Tests). Earlier against England, although not featuring strongly with the ball, Best had made his mark with a record-breaking innings of 95 at Edgbaston when batting at number 11. West Indies’ Test successes were, however, all against teams below them in the ICC rankings. This meant that, although they considerably narrowed the gap on sixth-placed Sri Lanka, they did not improve on their seventh place in the rankings from twelve months previously. With no Tests against higher-ranking teams currently programmed, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to maintain their apparent improvement in form. But for the many who have regretted the falling-off in standard of the West Indies Test side in recent years, 2012 and 2012/13 marked a welcome return to success, and raised hopes for better things in the future. On the domestic front, the format of the Regional Four-Day Competition in 2012/13 remained unchanged, with an all-play-all league followed by semi-finals and a final. Reigning champions Jamaica lost their first three wickets of the season before scoring a run, but nevertheless continued their run of success by winning all six of their matches in the league phase for the second season running, thereby extending their sequence to 15 wins in 15 first-class matches since their draw against Trinidad in April 2011. Highlights of this phase included the return of first-class cricket to Guyana in March 2013, after an absence of two years; and the appearance in the Guyana side at Port of Spain earlier in the month of father and son S. and T.Chanderpaul - the first such instance in the West Indies since L.S. and L.N.Constantine appeared together for Trinidad in 1922/23. In the semi-finals, Barbados cruised past the Windward Islands with the aid of a maiden first-class century from J.L.Carter (who had previously twice been dismissed for 99). Their first-innings score of 212 was enough to beat the Windwards not just by an innings, but by an innings and over 100 runs. Meanwhile in their semi-final against Trinidad, Jamaica looked to be on course for their 16th consecutive win, as they took a first-innings lead of 76 (aided by their second last-wicket stand of over 100 in the season, with no. 11 S.S.Cotterrell a partner in both), and had Trinidad 73-6 in their second innings chasing 179. But defiant batting by the Trinidadian lower order took them to an unexpected three-wicket victory, so ending Jamaica’s match-winning sequence and their record five-year reign as domestic champions. However, this was to prove Trinidad’s zenith, for in the final Barbados secured an innings victory, despite the second-innings efforts of opener L.M.P.Simmons, who reached 100 in 53 balls, and was finally out for 140 made out of 195. Once-dominant Barbados thus took the domestic championship for the first time since 2006/07. Overall it was a very low-scoring season. In 26 matches, only two innings totals of over 400 were recorded (the higher of which was only 409), while six of the seven teams in the domestic competition were bowled out at least once for under 100; the seventh team, Leeward Islands, did little better, with a lowest total of 108. Only two batsmen reached 500 runs in the season – D.S.Smith of the Windwards with exactly 700 at 70.00, and K.C.Brathwaite of Barbados with 577 at 57.70. For the bowlers, however, it was a season to remember. It was a sign of the times that the top three wicket-takers in the domestic competition were all spinners: slow left-armer 609