ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2018

slow left-armer Veerasammy Permaul of Guyana, but whereas Warrican’s and Cornwall’s numbers were boosted by A team appearances, Permaul’s total of exactly 50, at 18.90, came exclusively in the Four-Day competition. Among the batsmen, left-hander Devon Smith of the Windward Islands proudly headed the aggregates with 1095 runs at an imposing average of 84.23 (admittedly aided by some not-outs). Sharmarh Brooks (Barbados) was far back in second place with 854 at 37.13. Smith’s performance in 2017/18, notable even in isolation, is even more remarkable when it is seen as the continuation of an astonishing run of form extending over six seasons. The numbers speak for themselves. Season Runs Avge 100s Pos’n in national avges Runs Avge 2012/13 700 70.00 3 1st 1st 2013/14 539 35.93 1 3rd 14th 2014/15 915 48.15 2 1st 3rd 2015/16 719 47.93 2 2nd 9th 2016/17 611 40.73 2 9th 13th 2017/18 1095 84.23 6 1st 1st Across the six seasons, at a time when runscoring in the West Indies has been notoriously low, the Grenadian left-hander has struck 4579 first-class runs at 52.63 with 16 centuries. Thrice in those six seasons he led the runscoring, also coming second once and third once. Even in his ‘worst’ season of 2016/17, his figures were more than respectable. Guyana’s wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble had the satisfaction of claiming a new record total of 45 first-class dismissals in a West Indies season (42 ct, 3 st). The previous record was set by Courtney Browne of Barbados in 2003/04 with 43 (42 ct, 1 st). Finally, the ageless Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his Test days now behind him but still a key member of the all-conquering Guyanese side, claimed a remarkable record of his very own when, turning out against Trinidad at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba (see page 590), he appeared on the 116th ground of a first-class career that began back in 1991/92 when the world was young. He had previously shared the record of 115 with the distinguished duo of Tom Graveney and Mushtaq Mohammad. (JCB) Regional Four-Day Tournament 2017/18: Final table P W T L D BatBP BowBP Pts 12 6 0 3 1 Guyana 10 7 1 0 2 22 48.8 166.8 2 Barbados 10 3 0 2 5 21 42.4 114.4 3 Leeward Islands 10 2 0 4 4 11 47.8 94.8 4 Jamaica 10 3 0 4 3 15 33.6 93.6 5 Windward Islands 10 2 1 4 3 8 38.6 85.6 6 Trinidad and Tobago 10 2 0 5 3 18 31.4 82.4 576 West Indies in 2017/18