BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados crushed an out-of-sorts Trinidad and Tobago by ten wickets inside two days here yesterday, to give themselves a huge confidence boost ahead of next month’s semi-finals of the Regional Four-Day Championship. Set a mere 45 for victory in the final round game at Queen’s Park Oval, Barbados completed victory about 50 minutes after tea.
Earlier, they had extended their overnight first innings score of 143 for seven to 194, to grab a lead of 85 runs over their archrivals.
Javon Searles, who started the day on 20, made an unbeaten 56 while leg-spinner Imran Khan (3-29) led the T&T attack with pacers Rayad Emrit (2-50) and Shannon Gabriel (2-65) snaring two wickets apiece.
T&T shockingly suffered yet another batting meltdown, crashing to 129 all out with Khan top scoring with 33 and Emrit and opener Lendl Simmons each getting 26.
Experienced left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn destroyed the innings with five for 49 while seamer Searles grabbed three for 26.
Barbados then coasted to their target without loss of wicket, with opener Kraigg Brathwaite finishing on 26 not out. T&T’s hopes for an early morning breakthrough were thwarted by Searles who completed his maiden first class half-century, batting 102 minutes overall, facing 64 balls and counting eight fours.
He put on a crucial 68 for the eighth wicket with Benn who added four to his overnight 18. In T&T’s second turn at the crease, there was no sign of what was to come when Simmons and Adrian Barath were busy putting on a positive 37 in the second innings, to erase some of their side’s deficit.
However, once Simmons was trapped lbw to Benn in the ninth over of the innings, things quickly fell apart as the hosts lost four wickets for 11 runs to slip to 48 for four, just after lunch.
Khan, who also top scored in the first innings, stemmed the tide of wickets in a 20-run stand with captain Denesh Ramdin who made 17.
He faced 75 balls in 90 minutes at the crease and struck three fours, before he was seventh out, lbw to Benn who proved virtually unplayable. In between, Ramdin was taken at third slip by Jonathan Carter off fast Miguel Cummins who picked up two for 46 and Yannick Cariah also fell to Cummins, to a catch at the wicket without scoring.Emrit delayed the inevitable with his fighting 26 before being last to fall, bowled by Benn after missing a cut.
