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Heartbeats fluttered at a rate twice the speed of Merlene Ottey. The tension was boiling hot. It was high drama.

And when it was all over, Barbados, behind the steely resolve and calm nerves of Ryan Wiggins, clinched the regional under-19 three-day championship by completing a pulsating, nerve-jangling one-wicket triumph in an absorbing final against Trinidad and Tobago here on Monday.

It was followed by jubilant celebrations that included one female fan proudly running on Sabina Park with a Barbados flag and also extended to senior Barbados players in Jamaica for the Red Stripe Bowl.

When last man Ruel Brathwaite, a genuinetail-ender coming off four successive ducks, emerged from the huddle of the George Headley Stand, Barbados required another 16 runs to achieve their target of 163.

It appeared a task as difficult as climbing the Blue Mountains in the distance.

Trinidad and Tobago, spearheaded by their amazing record-breaker Ravi Rampaul, were on the verge of victory, they thought.

Wiggins, now firmly entrenched, maintained his cool in the face of Rampaul's telling accuracy and scampered a couple of twos to carry Barbados within reach of their first title at this level since 1999.

It appeared a bold move when he took another two off the final ball of a Rampaul over and it exposed Brathwaite to the lesser challenging stuff of off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth with two runs needed.

When Brathwaite forced a single close in to the first ball of the over, the Barbadians got up from their seats in preparation to celebrate. When Wiggins guided the next ball to short-man and raced through for the winning run, all sprinted out to the middle to acclaim their hero, who finished unbeaten on 50 when the mission was achieved at 5:55 p.m. with 4.4 overs remaining.

"My heart was going fast. It was a lot of mental stress trying to hold on. I had to think really hard to see the team to victory," Wiggins said.

"All I needed to do was to stay in and lead the team to victory. I knew the other guys would have come and backed me up. It paid off."

Wiggins, the Man Of The Match, has been part of previous champion school teams before, but this was the highlight of his young career.

"I have played in many finals before. We have won them, but to win one for Barbados is a great honour."

Coach Roddy Estwick is usually a cool customer, but he too was gripped by the tension that prevailed around the ground.

"Obviously you are going to be worried when Ruel Brathwaite walks to the wicket and he hasn't got a score in his last four innings, but believe in our team spirit," Estwick said.

Barbados, 91 for four at tea with Wiggins and Martin Nurse together, were favourites at that stage and later at 131 for five before Trinidad and Tobago gained the initiative by snatchingthe next four wickets for 16 runs.

The last of those wickets gave Rampaul a tournament record 45 wickets, eclipsing the mark set by his countryman Rajindra Dhanraj in 1987 when Trinidad and Tobago last won the tournament.

When Barbados achieved their champagne moment, many of the Trinidadians bowed their heads in disappointment.

The session between lunch and tea was just as intense as the final stages.

While Nurse led Barbados' cause, Trinidad and Tobago turned to Rampaul for the entire session and he responded by claiming the scalps of Kirk Gibson, Kirk Edwards and captain Kenroy Williams in an impressive effort.

Nurse tried to be aggressive on occasions and did so with good effect, but his progress was thwarted by the removal of Barbados' three key middle-order batsmen.

From a distance, however, there appeared to be some doubt over the dismissals of Gibsonand Williams. Gibson, never comfortable, was struck in front of the stumps, but the ball might just have pitched outside leg stump, while Williams could not be faulted if he thought the ball was heading over the stumps.

With the impressive Rampaul bending his back and running in with purpose, it provided a fascinating contest with Nurse.

The left-hander arrived at his third successive second innings fifty with a pull off Rampaul, but the vocal Trinidadians were convinced they had their man twice in the penultimate over before tea. They were dumfounded when Rampaul had appeals for catches to the 'keeper turned down.

As the players headed for the final interval of the match, the threat of rain appeared imminent. It was ominously overcast and thunder was rolling in the distance, but luckily the dark clouds passed to the north of the ground.

Just before they resumed on 91 for four, the sounds of Michael Jackson's Thriller boomed from the sound system. How appropriate it was.

The situation became even more intense for Barbados 25 minutes after tea. Nurse opted to go after a bouncer from the tall fast bowler Richard Kelly, but his attempted pull found the fielder down at deep backward square-leg.

It was a disappointing end to an innings that included six fours and a six. The only other blemish was a chance he offered to second slip off Rampaul when he was 30. With Nurse gone, Wiggins admirably shepherded the lower order with a level-headed approach that was needed in such testing circumstances.

© Barbados Nation