PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Barbados Pride retained the West Indies Championship on Saturday following a draw in their rain-hit final match of the season against Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Pride topped the six-team table with 76.2 points, after winning three of their five matches this season, losing once against Guyana Harpy Eagles before the watery end to their campaign.

Cricket West Indies Director Enoch Lewis was on hand at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex to present Pride and West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite with the George Headley/Everton Weekes Trophy for which the franchises play in the four-day, first class championship.

“It’s a great feeling; we’ve worked hard as a group and winning it back to back is great,” Brathwaite said in an interview with CWI Media.

“I just wanted to lead from the front… I’m proud of the young guys; they have a lot of talent [Ramon Simmonds and Akeem Jordan] and it’s for them to keep putting in the work and the future is very bright.”

Head Coach Vasbert Drakes added: “I am really happy for the group we had this year… The coaching staff did a fantastic job in getting the players to play at this level.

“I’m really excited for Kraigg Brathwaite. He led from the front, and I am happy to have him as captain and leading the team. It’s nice to see we made some bold decisions and they paid off — one of them is letting Raymon Reifer bat at number three. I am happy.”

Leeward Islands Hurricanes, whose final-round match against Jamaica Scorpions at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy was also badly affected by rain and ended in a draw, finished second in the championship behind Pride.

They, too, won three matches and lost once to the champions in the opening round in February, and may be cursing their misfortune of falling short in the race for the title in the Professional Cricket League era of the championship.

Harpy Eagles, previously Guyana Jaguars, the most successful franchise in the PCL era of the championship with five titles, finished third on 61.8 points.

They could only muster two wins — including being the only side to beat the champions this season — and a loss and two draws hurt their chances of seriously challenging for the title.

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force was fourth on 54.2 points, falling away badly after a strong start to the season for a record that included two wins, two losses, and a draw— but they continued to suffer from their lack of a core group of stable, yet experienced players.

Jamaica Scorpions were fifth on 43.8 points, winning only once, losing twice, and drawing twice. But, they are still in rebuilding mode and it still appears the lack of strong club competition to nurture their talent remains at the root of their inconsistency.

A season that promised much ended horrifically for Windward Islands Volcanoes when they finished at the bottom of the table on 26.8 points from mostly batting, bowling, and pace bowling bonus points, not able to win a single match, and with their most prolific batsman Devon Smith retiring — all of which leave the immediate future looking uncertain.