West Indies Domestic: Bats to the wall

Barbados gave another dismal batting display yesterday, and this time there was not even the satisfaction of a fightback from their lower order.

Unable to come to terms with a disciplined Leewards Islands attack and let down by three soft dismissals from experienced players, Barbados crashed to their lowest total in the tournament.

For the umpteenth time, they lost the cream of the batting before the total reached 100 and with Hendy Bryan, Ian Bradshaw and company unable to repeat their heroics of earlier matches, they conceded a significant first innings deficit of 42 in the do-or-die semifinal.

It was extended to 124 by the close of the second day and Barbados will need something close to a fairy-tale performance if they are to advance to the final.

The big Saturday Kensington crowd was subjected to another inept batting display by a team which has not gained substantial contributions from many of their leading batsmen.

The disappointing thing about it was that many of them spent some time at the wicket, but none was able to transform a solid start into a meaningful effort in the face of a number of vociferous appeals from frustrated fielders.

Ryan Hinds' 24 was the highest individual score by a Barbadian but, remarkably, four batsmen (Adrian Griffith, Roland Holder, Ryan Hurley and Ian Bradshaw) were dismissed for 18.

In the twinkling of an eye, or so it seemed, Barbados' last eight wickets went by for 98 runs. The agony was stemmed temporarily, for 32 minutes, by stoppage for rain an hour after lunch.

Curtly Ambrose, his control impeccable throughout, completed his second five-wicket haul of the tournament with young partner Kerry Jeremy providing essential support.

Those two came off early in the morning session in which Griffith and Holder survived for almost an hour in spite of a chance Griffith gave to Alex Adams at third slip of Ambrose.

It brought the less challenging stuff of Carl Tuckett and Wilden Cornwall into the attack, but within a few overs, Griffith and Holder got themselves out in ways which triggered four-letter words from the Kensington Stand.

Tuckett served up an innocuous long-hop, which Griffith attempt to pull, but the ball came off the thigh pad and onto his stumps.

On came the refreshment cart and a few minutes later off went Holder, falling to an unforgivable attempt to steer Cornwall's bustling medium-pace through the slip cordon. The ball got no further than second slip where Dave Joseph clutched it.

Browne, one of the leading lights among Barbados' batsmen this season, was never comfortable for the 40 minutes he spent trying to negotiate Cornwall and Tuckett.

There were two raucous appeals for lbw against Cornwall, a sharp chance to wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs off Tuckett and eventually Browne was out to a top-edged hook for the second time in the tournament, the catch taken at long-leg by Morton off Cornwall.

The 18-year-old Hinds again displayed plenty of maturity for an hour and 20 minutes before Ambrose's change of angle induced him into edging a catch to first slip.

Then came the ball of the day, one from Jeremy that bounced and moved away appreciably on pitching. The unlucky batsman was Hurley, who snicked it on the way to the 'keeper.

That left Barbados 110 for seven and although there were a few enterprising strokes from Bradshaw and Bryan, they didnot sustain the effort.