By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorBRIDGETOWN, Barbados:
THE BATTLE for the Carib Beer International Challenge Trophy at North Star Cricket Club in Crab Hill, St. Lucy, is scheduled for four days. Based on the action so far, however, it could end with a day to spare with the odds on victory for Jamaica.
At close of yesterday's second day, the scoreboard read: Barbados 142 and 149 for five, Jamaica 258, and with the home team leading by 33 runs with only five wickets in hand, unless Floyd Reifer, 17 not out, captain Courtney Browne and the hard-hitting Tino Best pull something out of the bag, it will be all over long before stumps today.
After falling behind on the first day when Jamaica won the toss, sent them to bat, dismissed them for 142 and then chipped to 135 for two with captain Christopher Gayle still batting, Barbados hit back nicely on two occasions yesterday before Jamaica snatched two late wickets and left themselves on the road to victory.
Led by left-arm pacers Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw who pocketed three wickets each while finishing with four for 56 off 18.3 overs and three for 58 off 24 overs respectively, Barbados limited Jamaica's lead to 116 picking up all eight remaining wickets for the addition of 123 runs.
With Jamaica hunting a lead of about 200 runs at the start of the day and Gayle opening up threateningly with a spanking square-drive off the first delivery of the morning bowled by Best and then a flowing cover drive off the pacer in his second over, that was the first recovery by the Carib Beer cup champions on another sunny and windy day.
The second recovery came later in the day when, after losing two wickets in 13 minutes after tea and slipping to 41 for two, Barbados, thanks to a partnership of 52 between Ryan Hinds and Sherwin Campbell who played some glorious strokes, moved to 93 before the left-handed Hinds, beaten by the previous three deliveries, stretched forward to Gayle and was caught off the inside edge by wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jnr.
Resuming on 57, Gayle, easing forward and not offering a stroke, went leg before wicket to Collins at 163 for three, and 14 runs later, Tamar Lambert, 19 overnight and playing forward to Bradshaw, edged low to first slip and was brilliantly caught by Reifer at 177 for four.After that, wickets tumbled at regular intervals with David Bernard Jnr driving at a slower delivery from Bradshaw and going bowled at 195 for five, Keith Hibbert, after chipping and driving left-arm spinner Hinds over long-off for six, following an away cutter from pacer Corey Collymore and edging a catch to Reifer at first slip at 220 for six, and Baugh, after a mistimed drive off Bradshaw that flew high to the third-man boundary, opening up again to the following delivery and edging a catch off the inside edge to wicketkeeper Browne at 228 for seven.
Batting a second time, Barbados started well with the left-handed Martin Nurse stroking and striking the ball confidently while driving fast bowler Andrew Richardson to the mid-wicket boundary, driving fast bowler Daren Powell to the cover boundary, hooking Richardson to the mid-wicket boundary and driving Andrew Richardson over cover for six.
Eight minutes after tea, however, Kurt Wilkinson was leg before wicket to Richardson at 36 for one, and five minutes later, it was 41 for two in the ninth over when Nurse, after a lovely cover-drive off Powell, after scoring 32 off 24 deliveries, hooked at the pacer and was brilliantly caught by Richardson running to his right on the long-leg boundary.
Campbell, however, was in good form, Reifer was solid at the other end, and with Barbados on 137 for three with seven overs to go to the end of the day's play, with the aggressive Dwayne Smith and the reliable Browne to come, the contest appeared nicely balanced and heading for a close finish.
With the minutes ticking away and the fans revelling in Campbell's stroke play, Richardson, two for 25 off seven overs, trapped the former West Indies opener leg before for 49 at 137 for four, and in the penultimate over, Powell, two for 47 off 10, turned the match fully in Jamaica's favour when Smith drove at Powell and Baugh made it 148 for five with a lovely catch going to his right.
SCOREBOARD
Barbados first innings 142
Jamaica first innings
(Resumed at 135-2)
C. Gayle lbw Collins 76
T. Lambert c Reifer b Bradshaw 33
D. Bernard b Bradshaw 6
K. Hibbert c Reifer b Collins 32
C. Baugh c Browne b Bradshaw 12
N. Perry not out 14
D. Powell b Collins 13
O. Browne c Reifer b Best 3
A. Richardson b Collins 1
Extras: (8b, 12lb, 12nb) 32
TOTAL: (all out) 258
Fall: 1-44, 2-86, 3-163, 4-177, 5-195, 6-220, 7-226, 8-243, 9-255, 10-258.
Bowling: Collins 18.3-5-56-4 (nb2). Best 12-3-52-1 (nb1). Collymore 21-4-46-2 (nb5). Bradshaw 24-8-58-3 (nb1). Smith 5-0-7-0 (nb3). Wilkinson 2-2-0-0. Hinds 6-2-10-0.
Barbados second innings
K. Wilkinson lbw Powell 6
M. Nurse c Richardson b Powell 32
S. Campbell lbw Richardson 49
R. Hinds c Baugh b Gayle 25
F. Reifer not out 18
D. Smith c Baugh b Powell 7
C. Collymore not out 0
Extras: (4lb, 1w, 7nb) 12
TOTAL: (for five wkts) 149
Bowling: Powell 7-0-25-3 (nb1). Richardson 10-1-47-1 (nb4, w1). Gayle 13-5-31-1. Browne 6-2-20-0 (nb2). Perry 4-1-7-0.
