BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) - Sherwin Campbell and Ryan Hinds staged a recovery to bring repeat Carib Beer Cup champions Barbados back into their semifinal of the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series against Guyana at Kensington Oval yesterday.
Three early wickets set the Barbadians back in pursuit of Guyana’s challenging first innings total of 310, but Campbell and Hinds have so far shared 88 unbroken for the fourth wicket to lift the home team to 138 for three when stumps were drawn on the second day.
Campbell was undefeated on 57 from 169 balls in just under four hours and left-hander Hinds was unbeaten on 48 from 159 balls in just over 2½ hours, after Damodar Daesrath removed opening batsmen Kurt Wilkinson and Martin Nurse to end with two wickets for 18 runs from nine overs as Barbados slipped to 50 for three.
The Guyanese had earlier shown some of their fighting qualities when they continued from their bedtime position of 248 for seven. With Daesrath again in the forefront with his second half-century for the season, the visitors demonstrated there was some sting in their tail and extended their first innings until the stroke of lunch.
Daesrath hit three fours in 51 from 107 balls in 2-3/4 hrs and added 40 in a useful ninth-wicket stand with Vishal Nagamootoo that further frustrated the Barbadians, after they had early success with the run-out of Mahendra Nagamootoo for two in the fifth over of the day.
Nagamootoo backing up too far was found short by Corey Collymore's direct hit at the bowler's end after running around from mid-on.
The second breakthrough for the Barbadians came about 20 minutes before the lunch interval when Vishal Nagamootoo also succeeded in running himself out for 13, beaten by Kirk Wilkinson’s direct hit from backward point at the striker's end, before Daesrath was caught at silly mid-off off Hinds’ part-time left-arm spin to bring the innings to a close.
Pedro Collins was the most successful Barbados bowler with four for 85 from 25 overs and Ian Bradshaw took two for 43 from 35 overs. There was also one wicket apiece for Hinds and Collymore.
After the lunch interval, Guyana had early success when Nurse was caught behind off Daesrath for four essaying a cut at a short, wide ball and Wilkinson was adjudged lbw to the same bowler for 15 to leave Barbados on 29 for two.
Floyd Reifer played a couple of nice drives for boundaries before Mahendra Nagamootoo bowled him for nine behind his back essaying a sweep. But Campbell, a former West Indies vice-captain, and Hinds, a West Indies all-rounder of recent vintage, stonewalled the Guyanese with circumspect batting, after taking Barbados to tea at 72 for three.
Neither offered a semblance of a chance in the final period and with the Guyana bowlers, particularly the spinners, unable to make anything happen supernaturally off the docile surface, the two batsmen mixed sound defence with aggression to offer their side a lifeline, since a lead on first innings in a drawn match will be enough for them to reach the final.
GUYANA 1st innings
S. Chattergoon lbw b Collymore 12
R. Ramdass c wkpr Browne b Collins 14
R. Sarwan c wkpr Browne b Bradshaw 121
T. Dowlin lbw b Collins 1
S. Chanderpaul c wkpr Browne b Bradshaw 81
N. Deonarine lbw b Collins 2
D. Daesrath c Smith b Hinds 51
N. McGarrell lbw b Collins 4
M. Nagamootoo run-out (Collymore) 2
V. Nagamootoo run-out (Wilkinson) 13
R. Griffith not out 3
Extras: (b-1, lb-3, nb-2) 6
Total; (all out) 310
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-27, 3-29, 4-232, 5-233, 6-243, 7-247, 8-260, 9-300.