l KINGSTOWN

Left-handed opener Devon Smith continued to force his way into West Indies contention, striking his third century in six innings here Sunday to power the Windward Islands to a seven-wicket victory over Guyana.

He finished unbeaten on 110 as the hosts, chasing a moderate 199 for victory, reached their target off 46.5 overs at the Arnos Vale Stadium in the third round of the Regional Super50.

The 31-year-old, who has not played for West Indies in nearly two years, hammered 11 fours and a six off 144 balls to anchor the innings.

He put on 45 off 72 deliveries for the second wicket with Andre Fletcher who hit 25 off 37 balls, before negating any hope of a Guyana comeback in a 113-run, third wicket partnership with Keddy Lesporis who scored 41 from 75 deliveries.

Earlier this month, Smith struck a century in each innings of the first round Regional Four-Day contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges, and followed up with 99 against Trinidad and Tobago in the Super50 just over a week ago.

Guyana had earlier suffered a mid-innings slump despite half-centuries from Trevon Griffith (55) and Leon Johnson (52).

The pair put on 93 for the second wicket after Rajendra Chandrika was run out in the fourth over for four with the score on 18 for one.

Griffith faced 76 balls and struck just two fours while Johnson lasted 84 balls and counted five boundaries.

However, once they were separated, Guyana lost three wickets for four runs to slump to 115 for four to lose their way.

Chris Barnwell then rallied the innings with 35 from 56 balls, belting a four and a six before departing in the penultimate over.

Off-spinner Dalton Polius (2-16) and fast bowler Nelon Pascal (two for 36) picked up two wickets apiece.

Afterwards, Windwards manager Lockheart Sebastien said, "We really should have been three games up by now, but as they say, good teams need to come back and that's what we did, we came back, and we're right up there...

"I don't think you want to hear what was said in the dressing room after T&T's game, but I can assure you some strong words were used.

"What we did different today was that Smith got in, and he did not get out. Once he was in, we let him know that he needed to bring home the victory, and he did."

SUPER 50 SCOREBOARD Guyana Innings T Griffith st Fletcher b Polius 55 R Chandrika run out 4 L Johnson run out 52 A Fudadin c Fletcher b Polius 0 S Jacobs b Shillingford 11 C Barnwell b Peters 35 R Ivan c Peters b Pascal 19 D Christian c Shillingford b Pascal 3 Z Mohammed not out 7 P Wintz not out 1 Extras: (LB3, W8) 11 Total (for nine wickets, 50 overs). 198 Did not bat: D Bishoo. Wickets at: 18, 111, 114, 115, 140, 173, 189, 195. Bowling: Pascal 7-1-36-2, Peters 7-0-23-1, Mathurin 10-0-47-0, Sebastien 10-0-46-0, Polius 6-0-16-2, Shillingford 10-2-27-1. Windwards Innings D Smith not out 110 T Theophile c Johnson b Jacobs 4 A Fletcher c Mohammed b Bishoo . . 25 K Lesporis lbw b Wintz 41 M Bascombe not out 11 Extras: (w8) 8 Total (for three wickets, 46.5 overs).199 Did not bat: L Sebastien, D Polius, G Mathurin, S Shillingford, K Peters, N Pascal. Wickets at: 11, 56, 159. Bowling: Jacobs 10-2-24-1, Wintz 8-0-47-1, Barnwell 6-0-29-0, Bishoo 10-0-44-1, Mohammed 7-0-29-0, Johnson 3.5-0-20-0, Ivan 2-0-6-0. Result: Windwards won by seven wickets. Points: Windwards 4, Guyana 0. Man-of-the-Match: Devon Smith.