CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

Oh dear, what can the matter be?

For a nation which boasts of a rich cricketing tradition, Barbados are seemingly quickly trying to establish the same dubious records that the West Indies have set in recent years, especially on overseas tours.

Seven hours after the West Indies sank to their 24th defeat in their last 27 Tests outside of the Caribbean, Barbados succumbed to a second successive Busta Cup defeat here yesterday in a match they subsided for less than 180 in either innings.

Statisticians will have to turn back the pages several years to find such an instance. They will also have a hard time finding an occurrence of Barbados losing two successive first-class matches in the same season.

And this defeat, inside three days, follows that against the Windward Islands last weekend when they were beaten by a team that had not toppled them at this level in 19 years.

Over the last three days at Sabina Park, it was clear why the defending Cup champions were a distant second to Jamaica, the reigning Shield champions.

We didn't apply ourselves, captain Philo Wallace said after Barbados had crashed to their lowest total of the season in an innings that lasted only three-and-a half-hours and 46.3 overs.

We played the extra batsman and it didn't work and I think we are still searching for the right combinations to come up with the results we are looking for.

Barbados, faced with a first innings deficit of 172 after enjoying a good first session in which they took Jamaica's last six wickets for 75, were undone by a combination of disciplined bowling, a few rash strokes and maybe a couple of decisions at which they showed their displeasure.

Kurt Wilkinson hit the topscore of 35 before he went in bizarre circumstances, while Sulieman Benn weighed in with 32 not out, but there was little else from anyone.

This Barbados team, missing the experience and skill of some of their leading batsmen for varying reasons, depends heavily on Wallace, but even before the bowlers could remove their boots, he was heading back to the pavilion for a fifth-ball duck.

For the second time in the match, the Barbados captain was undone by a peach of a delivery, one of fullish length from Laurie Williams which dipped and swung through the air at the last moment.

We have young, inexperienced batsmen who are still learning the trade and we have three senior players. I am one at the top. I didn't get any runs in this game, so I, too, have to take some responsibility for not getting among the runs, Wallace said.

At the end of the day, we didn't bat particularly well and we are still not taking wickets at the rate that I would like.

Williams, who was given a rare chance to use the new ball, also responded by gaining the wicket of Wallace's opening partner Shirley Clarke, lbw on the back foot to a break-back.

With Wallace out of the way, Barbados would have been relying on Floyd Reifer and Courtney Browne to carry the fight, but once both were despatched within an hour-and-a-quarter after lunch, it was obvious the match would not go into the fourth day.

Reifer fell to a loose stroke from a loose ball in the first over of a new spell from Darren Powell. A ball wide of off stump induced Reifer into an attempted cut which he edged to the keeper.

Browne was prised out by a big inswinging yorker from Jermaine Lawson, but he might have done better had he attempted to block it rather than play the off-drive he inside-edged into his stumps.

It was not yet 2 p.m. and the die had been cast.

Barbados, 60 for four, rapidly deteriorated to 85 for eight in the first completed over after tea.

Dwayne Smith succumbed to another soft stroke, providing a return catch to Gareth Breese, but poor Kurt Wilkinson could not be faulted for his freak dismissal.

He flicked Breese into the chin of Leon Garrick at forward short-leg and the alert wicket-keeper Keith Hibbert dived to take the rebound. There was, however, a feeling in some quarters that the ball might have struck the turf before it hit Garrick.

A hobbling Martin Nurse came out just before tea with an injured hamstring, but lasted only one ball which he prodded to silly-point to complete a disastrous match in which he bagged a pair. His injury seems almost certain to rule him out of Barbados' fourth round match against Trinidad and Tobago, starting Friday in Port-of-Spain.

Both Ryan Austin and Ian Bradshaw went the run-out route.

In the morning period, Barbados were finally rewarded for their persistence of the previous day when they made early inroads into Jamaica's batting.

Tino Best, wicketless in an impressive six-over burst on Saturday when the Jamaicans in the stands were urging him on, suffered from early blows before claiming four wickets with awesome pace.

Two of those scalps were catches courtesy of substitute Antonio Thomas. The first, which accounted for Breese, was at third man from an upper-cut, and the second, from Robert Samuels' top-edged hook, was a spectacular effort, hauled in inches from the ground with a despairing dive after running in from the long-leg fence.

© The Barbados Nation