Double Champs

THE CUP; the Challenge; the Bowl. What next?

With the clinical efficiency that has been the hallmark of their cricket all season, Barbados hastily demolished Jamaica yesterday to complete an unprecedented double by adding the Carib Beer International Challenge to the Carib Beer Cup they secured three weeks ago.

"It is a great feeling. This is tremendous," victorious captain Courtney Browne said amidst excited celebrations among teammates in the Garfield Sobers Pavilion.

"The old saying that hard work pays off really caps it off here for us. Hard work is what this was all about."

It was reflected in the presentation ceremony when Barbados copped most of the awards named after illustrious former West Indies players.

And there was warm applause in front of the pavilion when Browne accepted the Challenge and the US$10 000 that accompanied it, along with the Cup and the US$7 500 that came with it.

Sunday morning collapses at Kensington Oval have become common this season and yesterday was no different.

Barbados, winners of last September's Red Stripe Bowl final against the same opponents, wasted no time in wrapping up a Jamaica second innings that offered some promise on the third evening.

For the second time in the match, the Jamaicans tamely folded after building an encouraging platform. In the first innings, their last nine wickets fell for 68 and yesterday, their last seven second innings wickets went for 32 to transform their overnight 166 for three to 219 all out.

As a result, Barbados' seven-wicket victory was achieved as early as 1:01 p.m. after they were set a small target of 35.

In the process, they lost three wickets, one of which was Philo Wallace, who left the field raising his bat and helmet after he went for a duck. There was speculation that Wallace might have been hinting this was the end of his first-class career, but he indicated afterwards it was not.

In the end, the Challenge final was a one-sided match and not the type of contest many expected against a team that featured eight players with international experience.

"I never thought it would have been a challenge. I know the Jamaican team. I never thought it would have been close," Browne said.

"They are still a young team and they were coming into the match with a bowling department that was not really good.

"In terms of their batting, I have some bowlers who bowl the ball in the right areas and guys who swing the ball. Once the ball is swinging the Jamaican batsmen don't play it well. They always edge it."

Since the first-class championship was expanded to feature two segments in 2001 following the inclusion of international opposition, no side has won both titles and Browne praised not only the effort of his players but the support of fans and those working behind the scenes.

They included Barbados Cricket Association president Stephen Alleyne, the Barbados Defence Force team trainer Wayne Griffith, along with technical assistance from former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes and seasoned overseas professional Hendy Wallace.

Needing to score briskly in an effort to set Barbados some kind of a workable target, Jamaica resumed the final day 19 runs in deficit with aggressive intentions that never worked.

They scored at almost a run a minute in the first 35 minutes but were set back by the loss of their most consistent batsman this season and their most potentially explosive, both falling to left-arm pacer Pedro Collins.

Dave Bernard Jr., the new West Indies selectee, drove a catch to cover and hard-hitting Ricardo Powell edged his fifth ball low to first slip where Floyd Reifer took a neat catch.

It completed a double failure in the match for Powell. But he was not alone.Three of those who followed him also endured a match they would quickly want to forget.

Vasbert Drakes, who came on after an hour, gave away precious little after he was knocked around the previous evening when he conceded 40 runs from his six overs. He delivered another six overs yesterday, gave up only four runs and collected three wickets.

The first was Leon Garrick, who carried his overnight 56 to 75 before Drakes deceived him with his sixth ball of the day.

With Garrick gone, there was still plenty of batting with captain Robert Samuels, Gareth Breese and Keith Hibbert capable of offering resistance. None of them did.

Samuels and Breese succumbed to Drakes and Hibbert gave Tino Best his only wicket of the match.

Reifer again took another low catch at first slip to account for Breese and Samuels' cut was smartly held by Kurt Wilkinson at second slip.