BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Andre Fletcher collected his second hundred of the season to upstage an incisive spell from Fidel Edwards, and lead Windward Islands to first innings points over Barbados in the WICB Regional first-class championship yesterday.
Fletcher gathered 116 to anchor the Windwards’ batting, as they were dismissed for 350 in their first innings about five minutes before the scheduled close on the third day of their fifth round match at Kensington Oval, to gain a slender first innings lead of nine.
Liam Sebastien, the Windwards captain, continued his love affair with the Barbados bowling, and supported with 94, Keddy Lesporis made 50, Lyndon James got 25, and Kevin James added 24.
Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, is on the comeback trail following spinal surgery last year, and threatened to bowl the Barbadians to first innings points for the first time this season with five wickets for 77 runs from 19.4 overs.
But Lyndon James and last man Delorn Johnson spent almost 40 minutes at the crease in a crucial last wicket stand of 23 to hobble the Windwards into the lead.Batting a second time, Barbados reached eight without loss from six overs before stumps were drawn.
Fletcher and Sebastien are the two most recognised batsmen in the Windwards’ line-up, and they batted that way. They both have promised much with the bat in the past, but have delivered very little for the visitors at critical times.
The pair curbed their natural instincts to build a stand of 136 for the fourth wicket that put the visitors firmly on course, and deflated a rudderless Barbados side that appeared to be going through the motions.
Fletcher is well known to be a dashing batsman, but this season, he has shown a different side to his batting that many felt he possessed.
He struck 16 fours from 230 balls in close to 5 ¼ hours at the crease, and was genuinely disappointed, when he dragged a delivery from Tino Best into his stumps and was bowled about 45 minutes before tea.
Sebastien, whose father Lockhart is the Windwards manager, and one of their former batting stars, has spent the last few seasons playing club matches in Barbados for the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, where he has been pursuing management studies.
So the Barbadian attack is not unfamiliar to him, and last year, he had privilege of a hundred against them in an experimental day/night first-class match at the same ground.
He seemed poised to score another until he was lbw playing back and across to Pedro Collins after a 178-ball innings that included one-dozen boundaries in close to 4 ½ hours.
Edwards, who had Lesporis lbw in the morning period before the big partnership between Fletcher and Sebastien, suddenly found a new lease on life after tea.
He blew away Garey Mathurin for one, as well as Mervyn Matthew and Kenroy Peters for ducks to leave Windwards on 327 for nine – and 14 short of the “promised land”.
But Johnson joined Lyndon James, and some questionable tactics, as well as wayward bowling from the Barbadians allowed the Windwards to limp over the threshold.
James drove Best through cover for one of his four boundaries to give Windwards first innings points for the fourth time this season, leaving the Barbadians to ponder for the fifth time where they went wrong in their chase of the precious six points.
Best ended with three for 84 from 22 overs, and Collins snared two for 80 from 29 overs.
Since the turn of the century, Windwards have won only two of the 12 matches they have contested in the Championship against the Barbadians.
