They will come back to the Queen's Park Oval this morning, best placed to secure their first win of the 1998 NorTel series. And even better, to beat the defending champions.
Untimely afternoon showers that thrice disrupted the Guyana innings forced the match into the reserve day.
And at the start, Ramnaresh Sarwan's Guyanese side have the more difficult task of getting 107 more runs in 19.5 overs to post their second win in three attempts.
All Kevil George and his hard-working team need is six more wickets for a win they would deserve.
Determined not to be branded the whipping boys of this tournament, the winless Windwards gave their most accomplished performance to date. Adopting the positive approach, George chose to bat first and saw his men get their highest total so far-185 for 7 in 50 overs.
It was a gettable target for a good Guyana batting line-up. But when Danny Harris bowled skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan to make the score 45 for 4 in the 18th over, that total looked quite enough. The Windwards owed their improved showing to better application and, in particular, a 74-run third wicket stand between their senior team men, opener Joseph Parillon (32) and middle-order bat Kenroy Martin (44).
And when it seemed as if they were about to self-destruct when the pair fell on the same score and within less than two overs of each other, the captain steadied the ship with an efficient 39 off 52 balls.
The fact that not one of the trio got a half-century would have been disappointing to the Windwards camp.
Martin in particular, his left-handed enterprise having got him to within eight runs of 50 will regret his chasing of a widish ball that saw him caught off the bowling of Sarwan.
He followed Parillon back to the pavilion with the total still on 106. The opener, slow but playing a reasonable sheet anchor had got to 32 off 90 balls before he was bowled by the left-arm spin of Hemnarine Harrynarine.
But skipper George, playing the ball nicely into the gaps, picked up the pace again. And when he also fell to Harrynarine, Camilus Alexander and Stephen ``Biggie'' John gave their team a boost with 45 off the last six overs.
Left-handed John brought roars of approval from his mates when he just cleared the long-on fielder for the game's only six so far. But the beefy pacer would also have earned their gratitude for his solid opening spell of six overs in which he only collected 12 runs. The wicket-taking was left to Harris.
After he watched left-arm spinner Hezron Lawrence, who opened the bowling, hold Krishna Arjune's return catch in the eighth over, first-change Harris had opener Siewnarine Chattergoon caught by Parillon at mid-on. Then he picked up the key wicket of Sarwan.
But the Windwards captain also provided further inspiration for his team when he held an excellent tumbling return catch off the promising Narsingh Deonarine's low drive.
Steve Massiah, hero of the last round, and Homchan Pooran have already put on 23. They will resume hoping to steer Guyana to their revised target of 168 in 40 overs.
But more Island inspiration may just thwart those plans.