England A draw but T&T take the points

An attacking innings from Trinidad and Tobago wicketkeeper Keno Mason scuppered England A's ambitious plans to secure a second Busta Cup victory in Port of Spain today and the match finished in a draw.

In this competition, bonus points are awarded for first innings totals so when England A missed out by eight runs yesterday, the emphasis for the final day's play was to seek an outright win.

The plan started well when Alex Tudor broke through in his second over, taking the wicket of Dennis Rampersad and with spinners Jason Brown and Usman Afzaal collecting another three before lunch, reducing Trinidad to 65 for five, a victory started to look like a distinct possibility.

Brown struck again nine overs into the afternoon session giving Vikram Solanki his second catch in the slips but from that point on, as Mason became more sure-footed and belligerent, England A's hopes began to slide. They spiralled into despair when Mason was dropped in a caught and bowled chance off Afzaal when on 42. A wicket at that time with Trinidad on 122 for six could have proved decisive but he was let off the hook and predictably, he made the most of his good fortune, adding 74 runs with Darrell Brown then a further 24 with Rajindra Dhanraj.

Busta Cup sponsors are paying financial incentives to the regional sides for success against both England A and West Indies B so the Trinidad and Tobago players received US$2,500 - around 1800 pounds - for being ahead at half time, and the local regional board picking up a more substantial US$5,000.

In Trinidad and Tobago, one of the poorest of the Caribbean countries, that would buy them six months worth of Carib beer though Mason could stake his claim for a large proportion after his half century in the first innings and then a scintillating 82 in the second.

His natural timing and powerful strokeplay makes him an attractive player to watch and it was a surprise to discover that his career best for Trinidad is just 84, a score he made way back in 1995 against Windward Islands two years after making his regional debut.

He came close to beating that today but in a fit of pique, rashly swept Vikram Solanki's first delivery after the drinks break in the last session to fine leg and straight down the throat of a joyous Paul Franks. It made little difference to the balance of the game but it was a satisfactory result for England A's bowlers who were beginning to flag, after seven of them had been used in the innings.

Trinidad declared on 187 for nine and with ten overs remaining, John Crawley and Ian Ward wandered out into the hot afternoon sun to start their second innings, but by then both sides needed a miracle to pull off a result.

They batted for ten overs and wiped out 25 runs from the 195 required for victory but as soon as the minimum number had been completed, the players shook hands and left.

Skipper Mark Alleyne said England A's batting effort, Ian Ward apart had been disappointing.

"We thought 249 was a par score for the wicket. It was a good wicket, easy to bat on and they were patient when they bowled, bordering on boring but we should have got past 249," he commented.

"When we started today, we were confident if we could get into them and get a few wickets early on, we wouldn't mind chasing 150. We made the breakthrough but couldn't quite finish it off.

"We have a break before the next game but I expect a tense week because all the guys will want to keep an edge on each other. We made a few mistakes with our batting but we are still very much in the mix in terms of points. I would still back us to make the final four."