Barbados: Cricket Team Knocks 'Bad Breaks'(16 Apr 1998)

16 April 1998

Cricket Team Knocks 'Bad Breaks'

The Nation

THE OFFICIALS of the Barbados cricket team want the regional authorities to review the number of lengthy breaks during the first-class championship.

Barbados, the dethroned regional champions, yesterday returned home from Trinidad where they narrowly lost their final-round President's Cup match by one wicket.

It was their first match in seven weeks after the competition came to a standstill to accommodate the international series between West Indies and England.

Barbados were also inactive for four weeks following their third-round match.

The situation was similar last season when the championship was extended to ten matches per side, and both Barbados captain Philo Wallace and coach William Bourne said the interruptions had a negative effect on the side.

Breaks

"The breaks played a major part in disrupting our rhythm. We came back from the Windwards on a high but to have that long break really set us back a whole lot," Wallace told NATIONSPORT.

"I hope that the West Indies Cricket Board will look at the season next year and try to cut out these breaks and get the season more compact.

"It makes no sense breaking for four and five weeks to come back and play a game. We've now finished our season and there are still other matches to be played. That is also wrong."

Bourne, the Barbados Cricket Association full-time coach since 1989, said the breaks also affected practice sessions.

"We struggled a bit in trying to get ourselves into a practising habit. Getting everybody together was always a problem," he said.

"Hopefully next time around, the season would be a little more compact. To play five games over four or five months is not an ideal season."

Reflecting on their defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, both Wallace and Bourne said Barbados' inability to occupy the crease for the entire first day and several missed chances were the reasons for their downfall.

Trindiadian commentators also felt Barbados were unlucky not to have gained favourable decisions on a few lbw appeals in the tense, closing stages on Tuesday.

"It was a good game of cricket. We lost but we played exceptionally well," Wallace said.

The Barbados captain also expressed concern over the state of the Guaracara Park outfield which he said was bumpy and contained a lot of cracks.

The match was the first of the season for fast bowlers Vasbert Drakes and Hendy Bryan following their professional contracts in South Africa.

Both bowled impressively in capturing five-wicket hauls and Bourne lauded their performance.

"When we bowled the second time, the guys showed a great deal of commitment to the job. We just kept trying and trying and the final score reflected the type of effort we put in," he said.

It was an inconsistent season for Barbados in which they also lost to Guyana. Their 36 points were earned mainly from victories against Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.

"The coach and the selectors will have to sit down and discus what went wrong during the season. The manager has also made some points," Wallace said.

"There are not big problems. There are small problems which can be worked on.

"We lost against Guyana, which was an important game, but all in all, I thought the guys played excellent cricket this season."

The championship will be decided this weekend when the final two matches are played.

The Leeward Islands and Jamaica, both on 40 points, meet at Grove Park in Nevis, while fellow front-runners Guyana oppose bottom-of-the-table Windward islands at Arnos Vale in St. Vincent.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)