By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorBARBADOS underlined their claim as the undisputed champions of regional cricket when, as expected at the end of the third day's play, they defeated Jamaica in the final of the Carib Beer International Challenge Trophy at the Mount Gay's North Stars Cricket Club in St. Lucy yesterday.
Winners of both the Carib Beer Cup and the Carib Beer Inter-national Challenge Trophy last year, and winners of the Cup earlier this year after a perfect 84 points from seven matches, yesterday's victory handed Barbados the double for the second time in a row and left their fans beaming and boasting in the morning sun, "We are the best, Jamaica you are second best".
Going into the day's play with Jamaica on 69 or six and needing another 131 runs for victory, Barbados, with one wicket each for their four pace bowlers, wrapped up the match in 75 minutes and 15.2 overs with the visitors losing their four remaining wickets for 46 runs 17 of which came from the bat of Nehemiah Perry and 20 from that of Daren Powell.
Final score: Barbados 142 and 315, Jamaica 258 and 115.
Unlike the previous day when, with Barbados 149 for five and on the run with a lead of only 33 and only a handful of spectators were on hand, thousands of home town fans were present at the start of play yesterday for what they expected would only be the final rites. And that was what it was as Barbados strode to victory by an impressive 84 runs. Unlike Barbados, who rallied brilliantly on the third day and pulled the fans into the ground, Jamaica failed to fight back and within 15 minutes the match was as good as over - even for those Jamaicans residing in Barbados who were hoping that with a little luck they could pull it off.
The hope was that Odean Brown, the night watchman who was on one not out, would bat for a while, and that with a little help from Daren Powell and Andrew Richardson, batting at number 10 and number 11, Carlton Baugh Jnr. and Nehemiah Perry, both with first-class centuries behind their names, would pull it off.
In the morning's third over, however, Brown was gone. After hitting Ian Bradshaw bowling around the wicket over mid-wicket for six, the batsman failed to get behind a rising delivery from the left-arm pacer bowling over the wicket in the same over and edged a catch to Dwayne Smith at gully.
LEFT-ARM PACER
That was 77 for seven, and after one more delivery it was 77 for eight with Baugh, going back to left-arm pacer Pedro Collins, leg before wicket for zero.
It could have been worse than that. But for Ryan Hinds who dropped Perry on zero when the batsman drove Bradshaw into the covers, it could have been 78 for eight; and but for Bradshaw who, with Perry still on zero, dropping a return catch, it could have been 78 for eight.
With Perry hooking Bradshaw to the backward square-leg boundary, Powell driving Collins to the point boundary, and Powell driving Corey Collymore to the extra-cover boundary, Jamaica went past the 100 mark before Perry, playing back to Tino Best in his first over, was leg before wicket at 107 for nine.
Before the end came, before he attempted a drive and edged Collymore to Floyd Reifer at first slip, and before the fans raced on to the field in celebration, Powell chipped into Collymore and hit the pacer straight for a huge six.
