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The young brigade of exciting talent in the Barbados team has been encouraged to approach their game with their natural dynamism and flair.

And it was noticeable in the achievements of batsmen Kurt Wilkinson and Dwayne Smith, along with fast bowler Tino Best, in Barbados' emphatic first round Busta Cup victory over Guyana by 162 runs at Kensington Oval.

I honestly believe that their success came through team effort, a lot of commitment and the freeness that they were allowed to play their cricket, captain Philo Wallace said after Monday's win.

No one was hanging a cloud over their head. They were told to go out there and play the cricket that they know.

Best, 20, Wilkinson, 20, and Smith, 19, were appearing in their first regional first-class match for Barbados, but none abandoned their attacking instincts.

Best was given directives to bowl the way he knows how to bowl, Wallace said.

Wilkinson was also given directions: `You go and bat the way you know how to bat'. And so was Smith. It worked and we hope that they can carry on.

Best, a nephew of former Barbados captain and West Indies batsman Carlisle Best, bowled with sustained pace that rocked the Guyanese in the first innings when he captured four wickets.

Wilkinson fashioned an impressive 92 in the first innings that contained several glorious strokes and he weighed in with 34 the second time around.

Smith, the off-spring of former seasoned Carlton Division 1 batsman Wilbur Bruce, contributed 35 in the second innings, but played the most remarkable stroke of the match in the first innings when he effortlessly pushed Lennox Cush's off-spin over extra-cover for six.

The performances of the trio helped Barbados to open their defence of the Cup with that victory that was completed 20 minutes after tea on the final day.

I am a person all for development and improvement. To win is always good, especially to win having a lot of young guys in the team in strategic positions, coach Hendy Springer said.

We had a young bowler like Best opening the bowling on debut and we had young batsmen like Smith and Wilkinson batting at strategic positions in the side. They did pretty well.

Another rookie, off-spinner Ryan Austin, 20, also impressed with a career-best five-wicket haul on the final day, while left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, 20, took three wickets in the first innings.

Springer also said it was the intention of management and the senior players to make the juniors feel a part of the set-up.

We want to try to make these guys as comfortable as possible, the coach said.

We think that the comfort on the field starts from inside the pavilion. To get the best out of them, they need to be comfortable and that's what we are getting a bit of the best that they've got to offer.

Springer is hoping that what was displayed by the youngsters in the first match would be maintained or bettered during the course of the season.

I am just looking for guys to improve and go one better as far as performance individually and team-wise is concerned.

Both the coach and the captain, however, were of the view that Barbados' bowling could be better, in light of the fact that Guyana recovered from a position of 78 for six in the first innings to make 231 and a century opening stand in the second innings.

Bowling sometimes is a patient thing. The bowling needs to be bit more disciplined and [must] get acquainted with the requirements of first-class level, Springer said.

We have a number of things to work on in the bowling department, Wallace said when asked what areas needed to be improved on for the second round match against the Windward Islands, starting Friday at Kensington.

The Windwards will not be a walk-over. Once we can get our bowling right, we can look forward to another good game.

© The Barbados Nation