PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Barbados Pride dominated Trinidad and Tobago Red Force for the better part of four days but walked away with little to show for it after rain wrecked the final day of their WICB Professional Cricket League first round game here yesterday.
Starting the day seeking a possible victory, Barbados Pride watched as persistent heavy showers allowed just 14 overs and four balls at Queen’s Park Oval, with Red Force reaching 213 for five in the interim.
Once rain drove players from the field in the first session, they were forced to take an early lunch but every subsequent attempt to remove the covers was thwarted as the adverse weather returned.
Finally, umpires were forced to abandon play late in the evening after carrying out an inspection and determining that the outfield was too saturated.
The result was a huge blow to the defending champions who walked away with just eight points while Red Force, who played catch up for most of the encounter, managed to escape with five points.
Starting the day on 165 for three, T&T suffered a major setback off the second ball of the day when Jason Mohammed failed to add to his 32 from overnight, caught by Ashley Nurse at slip off seamer Kemar Roach.
The right-handed Mohammed faced 44 balls in 51 minutes at the crease, and struck five fours and a six.
West Indies Test captain Denesh Ramdin then joined Yannick Cariah, adding an important 28 for the fifth wicket, to prevent any further immediate success for Barbados Pride.
However, they were forced to survive a testing spell from Test pacer Roach, who ended with two for 46 from his 12 overs.
Ramdin, who was bowled by Roach in the first innings for a two-ball ‘duck’, opted for a positive approach as he struck four fours in a brisk innings that came from just 27 balls.
Cariah, meanwhile, played the supporting role and was unbeaten on 12 at the end, an innings that consumed 37 balls, 66 minutes and included two boundaries.
Part-time seamer Dwayne Smith eventually got the breakthrough when he had Ramdin caught at second slip by Nurse again in the ninth over of the morning.
With T&T floundering on 193 for five at this stage, Cariah and the 21-year-old Akeal Hosein came together in a face-saving stand and had put on 20 for the sixth wicket when the rains came.
Hosein, a left-hander who has played for West Indies Under-19s, was unbeaten on ten from 23 balls in half-hour at the crease.
Barbados Pride had dominated the encounter, piling up 360 in their first innings behind captain and Man-of-the-match Kraigg Brathwaite’s 182, and then bundled out T&T for a paltry 96 in their first innings.
Despite their enterprise, Barbados Pride finished the first round in third spot, nine points adrift of Guyana Jaguars who crushed Leeward Islands by an innings and ten runs inside three days at the National Stadium at Providence on Sunday.
Jamaica lie second on 16 points after they also recorded a victory inside three days on Sunday, scraping past Windward Islands Volcanoes by 13 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston.
T&T are fourth, the Windwards are fifth with three points while the Leewards lie bottom of the standings on two points.
Scoreboard
BARBADOS 1st Innings 360
T&T 1st Innings 96
T&T 2nd Innings (following on)
L Simmons lbw b Roach 27
E Lewis lbw b Warrican 61
Y Ottley c Smith b Nurse 44
J Mohammed c Nurse b Roach 32
Y Cariah not out 12
+D Ramdin c Nurse b Smith 22
A Hosein not out 10
Extras (b1, lb1, nb3) 5
TOTAL (5 wkts, 68.1) 213
Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-128, 3-165, 4-165, 5-193.
Bowling: Roach 12-4-46-2, Holder 5-1-23-0, C Brathwaite 8-3-16-0, Nurse 10.2-1-41-1, Warrican 15-5-39-1, Chase 8-2-25-0, Carter 2-1-4-0, Smith 6-3-11-1, K Brathwaite 2-1-6-0.
Result: Match drawn.
Points: Barbados 8, T&T 5.
Man-of-the-Match: K Brathwaite.
Umpires: P Nero, P Gustard.
