NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – An unbroken, opening stand between Dwayne Smith and captain Kirk Edwards raced Barbados to an emphatic 10-wicket victory over the Netherlands in a low-scoring affair in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament last night.
Smith led the way with an unbeaten 49 and Edwards supported with 22 not out, as the Barbadians easily chased down a modest target of 74 in their Group-B match at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
Smith smashed half-dozen fours and a pair of sixes from 27 balls and Edwards struck three boundaries in his 22 balls, as Barbados made their entry into the tournament with a loud bang.
Smith carried the Barbadians over the threshold, when he launched part-time off-spinner Michael Swart for a straight six.
The result earned Barbados four points, moving them into second with a superior net run rate behind Jamaica and in front of Sussex. The Dutch remain on four points.
Off-spinner Ashley Nurse had grabbed three wickets for seven runs from his allotted seven overs to earn the Man-of-the-Match award, as the Netherlands, choosing to bat, were dismissed for 73 in their allocation of 20 overs.
Carlos Brathwaite finished with two for 15 from four overs and Tino Best grabbed two for 24 from four overs, as the Netherlands batting caved in under the pressure and no one reached 20.
Scoreboard
Netherlands (20 overs maximum)
A. Kervezee lbw b Best 2
S. Myburgh c and b Brathwaite 7
M. Swart c Benn b Brathwaite 16
+W. Barresi b Benn 9
*P. Borren run out 0
T. de Grooth b Best 15
Mudassar Bukhari run out 0
T. Gruijters b Nurse 6
P. Seelaar c Smith b Nurse 11
T. van der Gugten b Nurse 3
Ahsan Malik not out 0
Extras (lb1, w3) 4
Total (all out, 20 overs) 73
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-27, 3-30, 4-31, 5-45, 6-50, 7-57, 8-64, 9-73
Bowling: Best 4-0-24-2, Hinds 4-0-12-0, Brathwaite 4-0-15-2, Nurse 4-2-7-3, Benn 4-0-14-1
Barbados (target: 74 off 20 overs)
D.R. Smith not out 49
*K. Edwards not out 22
Extras (lb4, w1) 5
Total (without loss, 7.3 overs) 76
J. Carter, +S. Dowrich, A. Holder, C. Brathwaite, R. Hinds, A. Nurse, K. Stoute, S. Benn, T. Best did not bat
Bowling: van der Gugten 3-0-28-0, Mudassar Bukhari 2-0-19-0, Swart 1.3-0-18-0, Seelaar 1-0-7-0
Result: Barbados won by 10 wickets (75 balls remaining)
Points: Barbados 4, Netherlands 0
Toss: Netherlands
Man-of-the-Match: A. Nurse (Barbados)
Umpires: N. Duguid, C. Mack
TV umpire: V. Bullen
Match referee: A. Griffith
Reserve umpire: B. Joseph
