West Indies Champions Secure Victory, Ascend to Second Place in WCL 2025

NORTHAMPTON: A superb half-century from wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton and a four-wicket performance by Fidel Edwards propelled West Indies Champions to a close-fought 10-run triumph over England Champions in the fifth match of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 held at The County Ground on Tuesday.

After being asked to bat, the West Indies Champions posted a competitive score of 164/9 in their 20 overs.

Early Innings

The West Indies innings began poorly, with Dwayne Smith (0) and Lendl Simmons (4) falling within the first four overs, leaving the score at just 17 runs.

Following this shaky start, Walton partnered with Chris Gayle, establishing a stabilizing 44-run stand for the third wicket.

This vital partnership ended in the ninth over when Gayle was caught by Ian Bell off Stuart Meaker at deep point, having scored 21 from 19 balls, including two fours and a six.

West Indies faced further setbacks when William Perkins was dismissed by Samit Patel in the subsequent over for five runs, reducing their score to 74/4 after 10 overs.

Walton and Pollard Partnership

Following these quick dismissals, Walton and Kieron Pollard rebuilt the innings, adding 80 runs for the fifth wicket, guiding West Indies to a more dominant position.

Meaker broke the partnership in the 17th over by dismissing Walton, who was the top scorer for West Indies Champions with a score of 83 off 50 balls, which included eight fours and five sixes.

His wicket triggered a collapse, with West Indies losing an additional four wickets quickly, including Pollard, who scored 30 off 16 balls with three fours and two sixes.

This collapse restricted West Indies to adding only 10 more runs in the final 20 deliveries.

For England Champions, Meaker was the standout bowler with four wickets, followed by Ajmal Shahzad with three, and Ryan Sidebottom with one.

England’s Chase

Chasing a target of 165, England Champions were bowled out for 154 on the last ball of their innings.

Samit Patel fought hard for England, scoring 52 runs off 36 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes.

Ravi Bopara (24), Tim Ambrose (18), and Liam Plunkett (12 not out) provided some resistance, but the other batsmen failed to reach double figures.

Fidel Edwards led the West Indies Champions’ bowling attack, claiming four wickets, while Shannon Gabriel and Dwayne Bravo each took two.

The victory propelled West Indies Champions to the second spot in the WCL 2025 standings, giving them two points from their first two games.