By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorTHE CARIB Beer Series cricket match between Jamaica and Barbados enters its fourth and final day at Sabina Park today with the prospect of a close finish after the home team squandered a wonderful opportunity yesterday to take a firm, if not deadly grip on the proceedings.
Leaders on first innings after dismissing Barbados for 198 and struggling to 205, Jamaica had Barbados on the run at 187 for nine in the second innings and appeared in control before Barbados, courtesy of a rollicking last-wicket partnership of 64 between Sulieman Benn, 22, and last man Tino Best, 42 not out, hopped to 251 to leave Jamaica a victory target of 245.
At stumps, Jamaica were 39 for one off 20 overs in their second innings with the victory target still 206 runs away.
Although time is on their side and they still have a chance of winning the match, Jamaica will have to come good, however, to win a match that was expected, from even before the start, to end in a tight finish.
This is because they have one batsman already back in the pavilion, and in the Barbados attack are fast bowler Best, swing bowler Pedro Collins, and although he did not spin the ball in the first innings, left-arm spinner Benn and the pitch is far from docile,
Resuming at 54 for two, Barbados lost night-watchman Collins, after he was dropped by Jerome Taylor at long-off off left-arm spinner Ryan Cunningham, at 77, lost Floyd Reifer leg before wicket to captain and offspinner Gareth Breese at 128 for four and despite losing Martin Nurse - caught by Mario Ventura at slip off Breese at 155 for five - were going well at 178 for five before, with fast bowler Andrew Richardson bowling well in an impressive spell after lunch and picking up all four wickets, they dropped to 187 for nine with four wickets falling for nine runs.
The lead was then 194 and Jamaica were then riding high.
Batting sensibly, however, Benn and Best denied Jamaica a quick finish to their innings. The longer they stayed around, the more confident they became and the more Breese went on the defensive, the more bowlers he used, and the more he changed them around in a desperate attempt to remove one of the Barbados tail-enders.
GLORIOUS DRIVE
Benn, who played a glorious drive through the covers against the offspin of Tamar Lambert, played well before, at the coming of the second new ball, he drove at David Bernard Jnr. and Breese took a low catch at second slip; and although he was dropped at slip by Breese when, with his score on 32, he cut at Lambert, so too did Best who struck Breese for three sixes on his way to 42 not out.
Left with 20 overs to the end of the day, Jamaica lost a wicket at zero for one when the left-handed Lorenzo Ingram, promoted up the order from number eight, cut at Best and captain Courtney Browne made no mistake behind the wicket.
