CRAB HILL, Barbados, (CMC) - Barbados diligently fought back from the brink of defeat to position themselves on the edge of victory to set the stage for a thrilling climax to the final of the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series against Jamaica at the North Stars Cultural & Social Club yesterday.
West Indies fast bowler Corey Collymore captured three wickets and Ian Bradshaw took two as Jamaica, set 200 runs to win, subsided to 69 for six when stumps were drawn on the penultimate day.
Barbados, the repeat Carib Beer Cup champions, had looked down and out after they had been bowled out for 142, their lowest total against Jamaica on home soil, and were led by 116 runs on first innings.
Courtney Browne’s side went to bed on 149 for five after two days and many observers were predicting a three-day result for the visitors yesterday.
But stubborn resistance from the bottom half of the Barbadian batting brought them back into contention.
Left-hander Floyd Reifer hit the top score of 83 and Courtney Browne scored 47 to share 80 for the seventh wicket to beef up the Barbadian second innings that ended on 315.
Darren Powell and Andrew Richardson were the leading bowlers for the Jamaicans, each taking three wickets, and Nehemiah Perry supported with two wickets.
But the drama really unfolded when the Jamaicans came out to bat a second time. The Barbadians made an early breakthrough when Maurice Kepple was caught at gully off Collymore for one fending a lifter.
Chris Gayle and Donovon Pagon had steadied the ship after the early loss and were just beginning to get stuck into their work when three wickets fell for nine runs to set Jamaica back on 41 for four.
Gayle was adjudged lbw to Collymore offering no stroke for 17, Pagon was caught at second slip off Bradshaw for 10 top-edging a cut, and Keith Hibbert was caught behind off Collymore for zero playing an ill-
conceived hook at a short, rising ball.
Tamar Lambert and Dave Bernard then cooled things off with some responsible batting, but both were dismissed in consecutive overs in the last 15 minutes before the close.
Bernard was dismissed hit wicket to Pedro Collins for seven when he jumped onto his stumps playing back to a short delivery and Lambert was caught down the leg-side for 21 by wicketkeeper Courtney Browne, the Barbados captain, glancing at a delivery from Bradshaw.
Earlier, the Barbadians found the inspiration for their fightback from an unusual source. Nightwatchman Collymore defied the Jamaican attack for 1½ hours and nursed Reifer through a period of uncertainty at the start.
Both batsmen had their slices of fortune. Wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh dropped Collymore off Nehemiah Perry when five, but it was Reifer who benefited the most from the Jamaicans’ slipshod fielding when he was dropped twice in the morning period on 19 and 33.
Collymore was eventually caught and bowled by Perry for 10, but clubmates Reifer and Browne batted with enterprise to significantly enhance the Barbadian total.
When Andrew Richardson bowled Browne to leave Barbados 254 for seven, Jamaica might have expected a quick conclusion to the home team’s innings.
With Reifer in the frontline, Barbados gained a further 61 runs from their last three batting partnerships to give their bowlers a competitive score with which to work. It might just be enough.
BARBADOS 1st innings 142 (R. Hinds 43; A. Richardson 3-29, D. Powell 3-36)
Jamaica 2nd innings 258 (C. Gayle 76; P. Collins 4-56)
BARBADOS 2nd innings (o/n 149 for five)
K. Wilkinson lbw b Richardson 6
M. Nurse c Richardson b Powell 32
S. Campbell lbw b Richardson 49
R. Hinds c wkpr Baugh b Gayle 25
F. Reifer c Hibbert b Powell 83
D. Smith c wkpr Baugh b Powell 7
C. Collymore c and b Perry 10
C. Browne b Richardson 47
I. Bradshaw run-out (Brown) 17
T. Best c Bernard b Perry 7
P. Collins not out 1
Extras: (b-8, lb-6, w-6, nb-11) 31
Total: (all out) 315
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-41, 3-93, 4-137, 5-158, 6-174, 7-254, 8-307, 9-313.
Bowling: Powell 20-3-66-3 (nb-1, w-1), Richardson 22-3-90-3 (nb-5, w-5), Gayle 19-5-49-1, Bernard 15-6-30-0, Brown 8-0-29-0 (nb-2), Perry 24.2-10-37-2.
JAMAICA 2nd innings (target: 200 runs)
C. Gayle lbw b Collymore 17
M. Kepple c Hinds b Collymore 1
D. Pagon c Wilkinson b Bradshaw 10
T. Lambert c wkpr Browne b Bradshaw 21
K. Hibbert c wkpr Browne b Collymore 0
D. Bernard hit wicket b Collins 7
O. Brown not out 1
Extras: (b-2, lb-3, nb-7) 12
Total: (6 wkts) 69
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-32, 3-40, 4-41, 5-64, 6-69.