KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) - Fast bowler Tino Best sustained his good form with a five-wicket haul, but a stroke-filled 81 by Dave Bernard lifted hosts Jamaica to first innings points over table leaders Barbados in their vital third round match in the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series at Sabina Park, yesterday.
In a hard-fought battle, Jamaica, responding to Barbados’ 198, were dismissed for 205 an hour after tea on the second day, and when bad light stopped play with four overs remaining, Barbados were 54 for two.
After losing Sherwin Campbell to a controversial slip catch in the first over of the second innings from Jerome Taylor, Martin Nurse, who is unbeaten on 20, and Ryan Hinds with 30 added 53 for the second wicket before Hinds was dismissed in the dying stages.
The 22-year-old Best, bowling with his usual fire, grabbed five for 44 off 19.1 overs as Barbados snatched Jamaica’s last six wickets for 44 runs to restrict the home team’s lead to seven.
Bernard, who arrived at the crease with Jamaica under early pressure at 19 for two, responded with positive stroke-play in a three-hour knock that included 11 fours and a six off 100 balls.
The tall right-hander stroked the ball crisply on both sides of the wicket and revived the Jamaican reply in tandem with opener Brenton Parchment and Tamar Lambert, before useful contributions from Mario Ventura and captain Gareth Breese inched Jamaica’s total past Barbados’.
Left-arm fast-medium bowler Pedro Collins collected two for 42 and left-arm spin bowler Sulieman Benn two for 47, to lend support to Best and help keep Barbados in the match.
Jamaica, resuming on nine without loss, lost Keith Hibbert to a yorker from Best that plucked the off-stump out of the ground and Maurice Kepple was lbw to Collins offering no stroke.
Bernard and Parchment put on 63 for the third wicket and after the latter fell 10 minutes before lunch, Lambert added 21 with Bernard.
Jamaica reached 161 for four with about 20 minutes still remaining in the session, but a fired-up Best wasted little time in wrapping up the lower order.
Jamaica, who were 87 for three, progressed to 169 for five at tea but after the interval Best took four for ten in 6.1 overs to push his tally for the season to 20 scalps.
BARBADOS 1st innings 198
JAMAICA 1st innings (o/n nine without loss)
B. Parchment c wkpr Browne b Mayers 27
+K. Hibbert b Best 1
M. Kepple lbw b Collins 5
D. Bernard c Reifer b Benn 81
T. Lambert c wkpr Browne b Collins 21
M. Ventura b Best 24
G. Breese b Benn 17
L. Ingram c wkpr Browne b Best 8
J. Taylor c Hinds b Best 6
R. Cunningham c Mayers b Best 1
A. Richardson not out 0
Extras: (nb-14) 14
Total: (all out) 205
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-19, 3-82, 4-120, 5-161, 6-181, 7-192, 8-199, 9-202.
Bowling: Collins 16-3-42-2 (nb-8), Best 19.1-6-44-5 (nb-2), R. Nurse 8-1-33-0 (nb-1), Benn 16-4-47-2 (nb-3), Mayers 9-2-39-1.
BARBADOS 2nd innings
S. Campbell c Ventura b Taylor 0
M. Nurse not out 20
R. Hinds c wkpr Hibbert b Cunningham 30
P. Collins not out 0
Extras: (lb-2, nb-2) 4
Total: (2 wkts) 54
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-54.
Bowling: Taylor 5-0-20-1 (nb-2), Richardson 4-0-13-0, Bernard 2-0-5-0, Cunningham 5-2-7-1, Breese 4-2-7-0.