Barbados slam 502 off Trinidad

IT WAS like taking candy from a baby.

For the second successive day, Trinidad and Tobago were a mere imitation of a first-class team in their top-of-the-table Carib Beer Series match at Kensington Oval yesterday.

On a day when the most prestigious horse race in the southern Caribbean was run off, table leaders Barbados flogged what seemed to be a "dead horse".

The runs were flowing as rapidly as Thady Quill was romping to victory in the Sandy Lane Gold Cup at the Garrison Savannah.

In the first session, Philo Wallace and Sherwin Campbell duly completed centuries and established a modern era record opening stand of 246.

Between lunch and tea, it was the turn of Floyd Reifer and Ryan Hinds to inflict more punishment on the hapless Trinis.

In the evening period, Dwayne Smith and Courtney Browne added more lashes.

By the time Browne made the declaration at 4:35 p.m. after Barbados enjoyed the satisfaction of becoming the first team to post a total of more than 500 this season, 354 runs were reeled off in 66 overs at close to five-and-a-half runs an over.

Trailing by 355 on first innings after Browne declared with Barbados on 502 for nine, Trinidad and Tobago suffered some uncomfortable moments in the 19 overs they faced before bad light halted play at 5:57 p.m. with three overs remaining.

At 47 for one, a second successive defeat was staring the visitors in the face.

It could come as early as today and it will allow them enough time to get back to their homeland to participate in Carnival celebrations.

Trinidad and Tobago, second in the standings, were terribly flat in the field yesterday.

Between the start and lunch, 132 runs were scored, and between lunch and tea, another 136 were added.

Fast bowler Marlon Black and leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, Test players in the recent past, came in for some stick against the rampaging Bajans.

It was the same story for the youngsters, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo.

To his credit, teenager Bravo took his licks like a man and was eventually rewarded with four of the first five wickets. He finished with five for 95 off 16 overs, but his last scalp was taken in controversial circumstances.

Wicket-keeper Navin Chan claimed a low catch to account for Ryan Hurley, but to those in the Peter Short Media Centre who had an excellent view, it appeared as if the ball had fallen out of the Chan's gloves. Those in the Kensington Stand were even more certain.

By then, Trinidad and Tobago had been fully deflated by Barbados' enterprising batting.

Campbell was the more aggressive in the first hour, his powerful driving through the off-side bringing him on even keel with Wallace after his partner started the day 16 runs ahead.

Campbell arrived at his 24th first-class century at 11:10 a.m. and Wallace achieved the milestone for the 11th time in his career in the next over.

Their stand broke the previous best by a Barbadian opening pair - 166 - since the sponsorship of regional first-class cricket in 1966.

The previous record belonged to Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (who had two stands of 166) and to Robin Bynoe and Geoffrey Greenidge.

Campbell fell soon after his hundred when his attempted cut off Bravo was caught on the cover-boundary.

Wallace swung Ramnarine over backward square-leg for two of his three sixes before Bravo bowled him off the pads with a ball of fullish length.

His 140 off 186 balls was made in four hours and was the highest of his eight regional first-class hundreds, while Campbell's 103 included ten fours and a six from 150 balls in 217 minutes' batting.

Kurt Wilkinson's wretched season continued when Ramnarine bowled him behind his back for six, but left-handers Hinds and Reifer enjoyed the syrup that was being served up by adding 82 for the third wicket.

Hinds stroked seven fours in 43 off 72 balls, while Reifer's 45 off 51 balls contained four boundaries and a towering six over long-off against off-spinner Mukesh Persad that cleared the Pickwick Pavilion.

Reifer also had a thumping drive through extra-cover off Bravo that sounded like a gun shot. It was, without a doubt, the shot of the day.

After Reifer skied a catch to mid-on and Hinds edged a catch to slip, the exciting Smith (46 from 41 balls) and Browne (35 from 23 balls) featured in a stand of 79 in next to no time before both fell to Black.

Smith was prised out by a superb running catch by Daren Ganga at mid-on and Browne was lbw on the back foot two balls later.