KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Donovan Pagon and Brenton Parchment hammered half-centuries but discarded West Indies left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn’s five-wicket haul kept Barbados in the contest, on the opening day of the Regional Four-Day final here yesterday.
At the close of a competitive day at Sabina Park, Jamaica were fighting back on 266 for eight, after they lost four wickets for 32 runs to slump to 186 for five at tea.
Pagon top-scored with 71 while opener Parchment got 58, as they combined in a second wicket stand of 108 to put Jamaica in a strong position after lunch.
However, Benn tore through the middle order to finish with five for 90 as Jamaica stumbled to the second break, only to be propped up afterward by a 27-run ninth wicket stand between Nikita Miller and Sheldon Cotterell.
Miller was unbeaten on 29 with Cotterell on 15.
Winning the toss and batting, Jamaica got an opening stand of 46 from Parchment and Xavier Marshall, as Barbados’ bowlers toiled without success in the first hour.
Marshall, who made 19 off 42 balls with three fours, survived a chance when on 19 when he was dropped by Rashidi Boucher at mid-wicket off seamer Carlos Brathwaite just before the first drinks break.
He failed to add on resumption, however, caught behind off the same bowler who finished the day with three for 38.
Pagon and Parchment then came together to frustrate Barbados’ bowlers in an entertaining century stand that required 173 balls in 107 minutes.
They saw Jamaica to their 150-run mark off 271 balls before the innings went into a slump.
Parchment was well caught by Brathwaite running back from mid-off off Benn and with four runs added, Pagon departed to a catch at short cover by captain Shamarh Brooks, also off Benn.
Parchment faced 138 balls and struck seven fours while Pagon was in for 109 balls and counted nine fours and two sixes.
Danza Hyatt (15) and Tamar Lambert (13) stemmed the flow of wickets with a stand of 28 before both fell just before tea.
Brathwaite bowled Hyatt off the inside edge at 186 for four and Benn then prised out Lambert to a catch at the wicket in the last over before the interval with no runs added.
Afterward, all-rounder David Bernard Jr was caught in the deep attempting a big shot off Brathwaite before Horace Miller (18) and Andrew Richardson (7) also went cheaply. Nikita Miller then proved hard to dislodge and has so far faced 84 balls and hit two fours.
Scoreboard
JAMAICA 1st Innings
B Parchment c Brathwaite b Benn 58
X Marshall c wkp Dowrich b Brathwaite 19
D Pagon c Brooks b Benn 71
D Hyatt b Brathwaite 15
*T Lambert c wkp Dowrich b Benn 13
D Bernard Jr. c (sub) Justin Greaves b Brathwaite 4
+H Miller c Brooks b Benn 18
N Miller not out 29
A Richardson c Searles b Benn 7
S Cotterell not out 15
Extras (b6, lb2, w2, nb7) 17
TOTAL (8 wkts, 90 overs) 266
To bat: O Brown.
Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-154, 3-158, 4-186, 5-186, 6-195, 7-222, 8-239.
Bowling: Best 11-1-47-0, Searles 15-2-53-0, Smith 18-6-30-0, Brathwaite 17-3-38-3, Benn 29-5-90-5.
BARBADOS – *S Brooks, O Phillips, R Boucher, K Hope, D Smith, J Carter, +S Dowrich, C Brathwaite, J Searles, S Benn, T Best.
Toss: Jamaica.
Umpires: Nigel Duguid (Guyana), Peter Nero (Trinidad & Tobago).