By Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
Barbados wicketkeeper Courtney Browne reacts after stumping Jamaica's Jerome Taylor for eight off the bowling of Suleimann Benn (out of picture) during their Carib Beer Series regional first class cricket match at Sabina Park yesterday. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
DOUBLE DEFENDING champions Barbados improved their chances of retaining the Cup and winning a place in the semi-finals of the International Challenge Trophy with a fairly comfortable victory over Jamaica in their Carib Beer Series cricket match at Sabina Park yesterday.
After trailing on first innings and looking in trouble at 187 for nine in the second innings, Barbados recovered to win the third-round contest that was expected to go to the wire by 40 runs with 32 overs to spare.
Following earlier victories over Guyana and the Windward Islands, Barbados now boast a perfect three from three for a table-topping 36 points.
Jamaica are now on 18 points after dropping first innings to the Windward Islands, defeating Guyana and leading and then losing to Barbados.
Final score: Barbados 198 and 251, Jamaica 205 and 204.
Set a victory target of 245 and resuming on 39 for one with Brenton Parchment on 19, Maurice Kepple on 10, and the target 206 runs away, Jamaica survived some fiery bowling from Tino Best, some good swing bowling from left-hander Pedro Collins, some good, accurate bowling from pacer Ryan Nurse, some confident appeals for leg before, and an ear-shattering appeal for run out against Kepple to reach 74 without further loss.
At that stage, and even though neither Parchment, 36, nor Kepple, 65, looked confident, Jamaica were in a wonderful position to push for victory or at least to set up an exciting finish.
With 25 minutes to go to lunch, however, Jamaica, cornered by the three pacers and scoring only 35 runs off 18 overs in 95 minutes, cracked under the pressure, lost three wickets before the interval, and the writing was on the wall.
Parchment, playing off the back foot, cut Nurse straight to Antonio Mayers at point at 74 for two; David Bernard Jnr, driving off the front foot, edged Nurse to wicketkeeper and captain Courtney Browne at 74 for three; and Tamar Lambert, also driving off the front foot, edged Collins to Browne at 77 for four.
LOVELY DRIVES
With Mario Ventura steering and cutting for a couple boundaries and Kepple reeling off two lovely drives one each on either side of the pitch, Jamaica looked inspired and ready for a fight after lunch.
However, the left-handed Ventura drove at Best in his first over of a new spell and Browne - on his way to equalling Keith Hibbert's new record of 10 dismissals in a match in the regional competition and to setting a new record of seven in an innings - completed the catch to make it 99 for five.
It was 106 for six and the contest all but over when captain Gareth Breese, going back defensively to a delivery from Nurse that cut away off the pitch, edged to Browne.
It was, however, not yet over, and before they could celebrate, Barbados were forced to pull out all the stops as Kepple, who, in a fighting effort, batted for 350 minutes, faced 208 deliveries and stroked five boundaries before he was ninth man out at 199, and a brilliant Hibbert threatened to ambush them while posting 72 runs in 75 minutes off 104 deliveries for the seventh wicket.
Hibbert, following on his brilliance behind the stumps, stroked and smashed eight fours and hit one six while blasting 51 off 54 deliveries before, in the over after tea, he cut at Best and Browne made it 178 for seven.
With only the bowlers to come and the target still 67 runs away, that was it for Jamaica.
