Barbados on the ropes

Kingston - For the first time in two Busta Cup seasons, Barbados found themselves cornered on the ropes yesterday.

The body blows were inflicted in the first phase of the fight by Franklyn Rose and company and they were even harder in the next stage when Chris Gayle was the aggressor.

But, like a true heavyweight champion, last seasons Busta Cup champions found the resolve to throw a few punches of their own late in the day.

Yet, Philo Wallaces men will know that they will have to come better if they are to avoid defeat in their key third-round match against Jamaica.

The hosts, on the strength of another outstanding effort from Rose, secured first innings lead by 38 runs just after lunch and by the close had built on their advantage, courtesy of a scintillating exhibition of power from 20-year-old Gayle.

Jamaica were moving along with little bother on 132 for two when Barbados clawed their way back into the match with three wickets in the final 40 minutes.

We always felt that our bowlers would have brought us back, said Barbados manager Tony Howard.

The match is interestingly poised and it can go either way.

The bottom line is that Jamaica begin the third day 186 runs to the good and with five wickets intact on a Sabina Park pitch on which the low bounce is becoming progressively difficult.

Barbados removed captain Jimmy Adams, the potentially dangerous Ricardo Powell and the dogged Wavell Hinds late in the day.

The fair-sized crowd showed their obvious disappointment when local umpire Norman Malcolm gave out Hinds one short of his half-century.

The left-hander, scratchy and unimpressive for most of the over three hours he was in, banged his bat on reaching the pavilion after he was ruled lbw offering no stroke to leg-spinner Dave Marshall.

Just before Hinds went, Powell appeared to lose sight of a slow full toss and was lbw to Hendy Bryan and Adams was caught at first slip off the same bowler.

Those three wickets restricted the advantage that Jamaica had created in a second-wicket stand of 89 between Gayle and Hinds.

Gayle was simply a joy to watch when he powerfully launched his ten boundaries in an entertaining innings of 69 off 97 balls.

The tall left-hander became the first player to pass 300 runs for the season. But as in the first innings, he promised so much more when he was spectacularly plucked out by a full-length diving catch at mid-wicket by Wallace off a Marshall long-hop.

Earlier, Barbados needed a substantial contribution from either of their overnight batsmen if they were to seriously challenge for first innings lead.

Roland Holder and Ryan Hurley made it into the 40s but with similar slices of luck. Neither, however, carried on and Barbados were dismissed 15 minutes after lunch.

Hurley confidently started with two on-side boundaries off Rose, but never played with much confidence after that, particularly against Nehemiah Perrys off-spin.

Both Hurley and Holder survived shouts for lbw against Courtney Walsh, and Hurleys innings of 41 was ended by the first ball of a new spell from Rose, a full-length delivery that flattened the batsmans off stump after he attempted a drive.

Barbados lower order had twice revived them this season, but it was not repeated yesterday.

Bryan, who has featured in both fightbacks, rushed to 15 before edging an attempted forcing shot through the off-side into the gloves of the keeper to give Rose his sixth wicket.

Holder then decided to free himself from a lengthy period of restraint in which he was very watchful. He should have been caught by Carl Wright at cover when he was 24, and responded with two authentic boundaries off Rose.

Just when he appeared to be playing with the type of class that has brought him 15 first-class centuries, Holder was prised out five minutes before lunch.