Double Carib Beer defending regional first-class cricket champions Barbados took first innings points from Guyana on the first day of their four-day 2004 first-round Carib Beer encounter at the Kensington Oval yesterday.
The home team ended the first day enjoying a 12-run first-innings lead with eight second-innings wickets intact after a solid unbeaten 72 from Kirk Wilkinson helped Barbados to 120-2 replying to Guyana's paltry 108.
On a day blessed with glorious sunshine, Guyana, asked to bat first on a straw-coloured track which offered some pace and bounce for the Bajan bowlers, saw the home team dominating the session.
Guyana began the day on the back foot when pacer Reon Griffith was forced to pull out of the game due to a slight back injury. The experienced Andre Percival, who has enjoyed his best success at this level against Barbados, was the other player left out of the final eleven as Guyana included all three opening batsmen in their line up.
Guyana were put under more pressure when they began the defence of their small total and Reon Thomas, playing his first regional match for Guyana, suffered a side strain after bowling five balls and had to leave the field.
Guyana's manager Carl Moore told Stabroek Sport that the pacer will return to the doctor today but indicated that he could be out of action for the rest of the game. Pacer Eusan Crandon fell on his left hand while fielding late in the day and was taken for an X-ray last night as the Guyanese injury problems continued. Moore said Crandon should be able to bowl today.
Barbados omitted spinners Ryan Layne and Sulieman Benn since, as skipper Courtney Browne had predicted before the game:"We know that the Guyana batsmen are not comfortable to pace and we opted to play four fast bowlers and run at them today."
Backed by a small working-day crowd, Barbados soon had Guyana on the ropes at 15-3, thirty-six minutes into the day.
Azeemul Haniff (4), Sewnarine Chattergoon (6) and Krishna Arjune (0) were all sent back by left-arm pacer Pedro Collins to put Barbados on top, in much the same way they did the last time these team met here in 2002 when Guyana were 11-4 with Haniff (0), Chattergoon (0), Dowlin (0) and Lennox Cush (4) all back in the hut.
This time it took a sustained spell of seam bowling from Collins and an ill-prepared Guyana batting line-up, affected by rain and trials on docile pitches, to leave Guyana in danger of falling under their lowest total at this level (41 against Jamaica in 1986).
Haniff had his off stump knocked out at 12-1, Chattergoon edged a catch to Floyd Reifer at first slip at 14-2 and Arjune provided a catch to the 'keeper Browne at 15-3.
By lunch Narsingh Deonarine (6) and Cush (16) were also out of the way as the South Americans struggled to 46-6.
Deonarine drove at a ball which left him from Collins to fourth slip while Cush, who hit three fours from 35 balls in his 62-minute knock, was given out caught behind off left-arm pacer Ian Bradshaw to leave the visitors on 37-5.
Vishal Nagamootoo, soon fended a short ball from pacer Ryan Nurse for Browne to hold his third catch at 45-6 just before lunch.
After the interval, Dowlin, who struggled for 35 balls and 50 minutes in his painstaking innings, was brilliantly taken at silly mid off by Antonio Mayers for a duck as he played one of his rare attacking shots to give Tino Best his first wicket at 46-7.
A 14-minute rain break at 53-7 cooled things down a bit for the Guyanese and when play re-started on the lush green outfield with the sun back out in all it's glory, captain Neil McGarrell and his vice captain Mahendra Nagamootoo ensured that Guyana passed their lowest total against Barbados (89 in 1979 in Barbados) with a fighting 59-run, eight-wicket stand.
Nagamootoo, with a first class century to his name for the West Indies, counter-attacked the bowling before he spoiled his hard work with a terrible shot at 105-8.
Nagamootoo hit six fours from 59 balls and 98 minutes in his top score of 38. But when well set for his third regional fifty, he played an ill-advised swipe at a slower ball from Bradshaw and skied the ball to mid-off.
McGarrell was left not out on 21 after he played the supporting role in his face saving partnership with Nagamootoo as fast bowlers Eusan Crandon (0) and Thomas (1) fell to off-spinner Ryan Hurley in the space of two runs. The Guyana innings ended at the extended tea break.
Collins finished with 4-31 from 14 overs of impressive seam bowling while Hurley (2-6) and Bradshaw (2-22) supported well. Best (1-25) bowled with pace but was too short on most occasions while Nurse had 1-19.
Barbados in reply reached 31 before the experienced Sherwin Campbell (12) cut a ball too close to him and was caught by Nagamootoo at first slip as Crandon made the break through.
McGarrell who bowled 3.1 overs of medium pace with the new ball, found the edge of Wilkinson's bat but the ball passed where third slip would have been and raced into the unprotected third man boundary for four.
Wilkinson soon got to his fifth regional first-class fifty from 100 balls in 110 minutes aided by 10 fours and along with Ryan Hinds, who never suggested permanence, took the score to 100 before Hinds departed.
The left-hander failed to capitalise on a difficult stumping chance off McGarrell and was soon bowled by Cush.
Reifer (8) and Wilkinson, who has so far faced 155 balls, batted for 146 minutes and reached the boundary 10 times, ensured the home team ended day one of the 2004 competition large and in charge in their own backyard.
Coach Smith said he was disappointed with the batting of his side and informed that had Guyana won the toss the plan was to bat first.
"It is always going to be difficult for any team when you lose half the side in the first session.... the injury to our pacers will make work even harder for us...but we got to keep trying and hope for a few quick wickets tomorrow (today) to get us back in the game," he said.
Guyana, with one bowler short, will have an uphill task today to
prevent Barbados from building a big total on a track expected to get better for batting on day two.