Smith powers Barbados to the final

Barbados 270 for 7 (Smith 96, Browne 51*) beat Windward Islands 175 for 8 (Murray 47, Sammy 46) by 41 runs - D/L method
Scorecard

An aggressive 96 by Dwayne Smith, the West Indian middle-order batsman, helped Barbados ease into the final of the KFC Cup, the one-day tournament in the Caribbean. Smith's knock helped Barbados power to 270 for 7 in 50 overs. Windwards fell short by 41 runs in a run-chase interrupted by rain in Georgetown, but the match was marred by controversy over the tournament rules for reserve days.

Windwards had recovered after losing two early wickets in the fourth over, from Corey Collymore, and were reasonably well-placed at 100 for 3 after 25.1 overs when Junior Murray and Darren Sammy accepted the offer to go off for bad light. They did so under the impression that play would continue the next day - and they'd get the entire 50 overs to chase the target - if the total number of overs weren't completed that evening. The tournament fixtures release by the West Indies board indicated a reserve day, but there was no mention of it in the tournament's playing conditions which were released to the media just before the KFC Cup began.

When the players returned, 12 overs were deducted due to the time lost and the target was revised to 237 from 38. The asking rate, which had been a manageable 6.88, suddenly rocketed to 9.11. Murray and Sammy, who had been coasting along before the rain break, fell soon after resumption, and the rest of the batsmen just weren't up to the task.

Earlier, Smith's 81-ball knock was the highlight of the Barbados innings. None of the other top-order batsmen made significant contributions, but Courtney Browne chipped in with a handy unbeaten 51 off 48 balls to prop up the innings in the final overs.

Barbados play Guyana in the final on Saturday.