Bajans buckle in Red Stripe match

Pedro Collins, a No. 10 tail-ender with no credentials as a batsman, walked onto to a noisy Bourda ground yesterday evening and proceeded to belt the ball around in marching to a maiden regional half-century.

By the time Collins came out with the depressing scoreboard reading 141 for eight in the 34th over, Barbados had no chance whatsoever of attaining a target of 254 from 48 overs.

What he did was secondary in determining the outcome of a Red Stripe Bowl match that Guyana had long wrapped up. Thanks to his lusty hitting in an unbeaten 55 off 48 balls, Barbados however managed to reach 221 and reduce the margin of defeat to 32 runs.

The pertinent question that has to be asked is: if Collins, whose previous best at this level was seven, was able to bat so authoritatively, why weren't those who were picked specifically to make runs could not deliver?

None of the top six made it past 30 and it is time the socalled shareholders be told in no uncertain terms that scores like 16, 28, 25, 13, 16 and 28 are not enough to beat quality teams.

The batsmen did not handle the responsibility as well as they should have, team coach Hendy Springer conceded.

Pedro did really well. It is heartening for a what I call a middle lower-order batsman to come in and strike a 50 like that. It sets a good example for those guys who have gone before him.

The defeat now leaves Barbados in a position where they must beat Southern Windwards today and hope that Guyana take care of Antigua and Barbuda. Other results might bring calculators into the equation.

There was a semblance of a start from most of Barbados' batsmen yesterday, but no one carried on.

Philo Wallace flicked Reon King for a four and then pulled him for powerful six into the Clive Lloyd Stand. In the next over from Colin Stuart, Wallace showed his obvious dislike when Basil Morgan ruled that he had snicked a catch to keeper.

Sherwin Campbell and Dale Richards also looked accomplished, but departed when set. Campbell was bowled as he played slightly across the line and there was a similar indiscretion for Richards who gave a return catch to one of the few balls leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo flighted.

Adrian Griffith was run out after hesitation between he and Floyd Reifer, who never played the spin with the conviction for which he is known to.

Barbados won the toss here yesterday and nothing else.

Guyana, packed with a host of current internationals and urged on by 9000 hometown supporters, thoroughly outplayed their opponents who have not beaten them in nine matches since 1991.

For those in the stands, it was carnival from the time Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were providing rich entertainment. When they were not chanting Hoo-per, Hoo-per, Hoo-per, they were creating a cacophony of noises with a host of varying instruments.

For the small contingent of Barbadians at the ground, it was misery, especially after the batsmen went after a successive victory without all-rounder Ryan Hinds, whose viral illness prompted the selectors to replace him with Collins at the last minute.

The balance of the side that included four fast bowlers and a solitary spinner, could have been affected. Maybe, the inclusion of Kurt Wilkinson might have been an option.

We missed Ryan a lot, especially with the batting, Springer said.

We needed the extra fast bowler. We needed a specialist bowler, seeing that we had come to a batting pitch. We needed a bowler to get some wickets, Springer gave as the reason behind Collins' inclusion ahead of Wilkinson.

Guyana's quartet of spinners applied so much pressure that the match was virtually over by 4 p.m.

There were marked differences between the two sides, especially in the fielding. Guyana did not drop a chance and rarely misfielded. Barbados missed at least four catches and the ground fielding was atrocious in the early stages.

Fortunes went back and forth a few times during the Guyana innings on a sun-baked morning. For the first ten overs, Barbados were terribly sloppy in the field. Campbell and Reifer, supposedly two of the safer catchers, muffed chances they should have taken in successive overs from Collins who bowled a very sharp opening spell.

Barbados were able to pull things back, mainly through the efforts of Ian Bradshaw, whose variation in pace proved effective.

After Bradshaw bowled Ramnaresh Sarwan off the inside edge, came the moment Guyanese were waiting for.

Hooper and Chanderpaul were paired together with 30 overs remaining. Hooper was typical Hooper in a stroke-filled 47 off 55 balls, but Chanderpaul could not find rhythm, timing or placement until Hooper departed after a fourth-wicket stand of 77 in 16.4 overs.

The struggling Chanderpaul suddenly became commanding and he made the ground shake in successive balls when he hoisted Bradshaw to long-on for successive sixes. The first ended up somewhere in the Rohan Kanhai Stand and the second went way beyond.

Chanderpaul's dismissal for 52 off 74 balls to a smart catch by Benn at mid-off, however, denied Guyana the services of their two most heralded batsman for the final ten overs of the innings.

It didn't matter in the end.