Barbados roll on

Barbados completed their expected demolition of Trinidad and Tobago well inside the distance, but their third victory of the season with a day to spare was marred by a sour taste in the dying stages at Kensington Oval yesterday. For the second time in three matches, exuberant fast bowler Tino Best was forced out of the attack after sending down two full tosses above the height of the batsman's waist.

They were delivered in successive balls to No. 11 batsman Mukesh Persad just after 2 p.m. and Barbados captain Courtney Browne later apologised to his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Daren Ganga for the unfortunate incident.

"He [Tino] is very disappointed, and personally, I would like to say sorry to Daren for the full-pitched balls," Browne said after Barbados won by an innings and 110 runs at 2:22 p.m. on the penultimate day.

"Tino is a very strong individual and I know he'll bounce back."

The first of the two full-tosses struck Persad above the left wrist and the blow required on-the-field attention from the trainer Clinton Jeremiah.

The very next delivery sailed over the batsman's head, went past wicket-keeper Browne and into the boundary.

Two weeks ago, an umpire also instructed that Best be removed from the attack after he delivered two waist-high full tosses against Jamaica at the North Stars Club ground in Crab Hill, St Lucy.

Yesterday's mishap was the only disappointment in an otherwise unblemished performance that was reflected by the emphatic margin of victory.

The win carried Barbados to 48 points and with two series of matches remaining, it is difficult to see how any team can stop them from winning the Carib Beer Cup and possibly the International Challenge.

"It is not a matter of confidence. It is about taking one game at a time and trying to improve our all-round cricket," Browne said.

"We are concentrating more on good performances rather than boasting or bragging about winning cups or getting the most points."

Trinidad and Tobago, resuming their second innings on 47 for one and facing a big first innings deficit of 355, were all out for 245 at 2:22 p.m. to slump to their 18th defeat in 20 meetings against Barbados at Kensington Oval.

"It is very disappointing. There are a lot of questions to be answered, " Ganga said.

"We have a talented bunch of youngsters. Our first couple games were tremendous. Everybody was coming to the plate and performing, but of late, there has not been a sense of urgency."

On a weekend when Carnival celebrations are winding down in their homeland, it was also felt that the Trinidadians were not too focused on what they had come here to do.

"We are young professionals. Whether or not Carnival is going on back in Trinidad, our job was to come here and play cricket. I don't think that is an issue," Ganga said.

"The mere fact was what we did in the middle here. We didn't bat or bowled well and we suffered the consequences."

After an inept showing over the first two days, there was a lot more fight by Trinidad and Tobago yesterday, but they were still not up to the mark.

Within the first half-hour, Andy Jackson edged a catch to first slip and the gifted Dwayne Bravo raced to a half-century with the help of some polished strokes through the off-side.

With Ganga, he put on 51 for the third wicket, but both fell in successive overs with careless strokes.

Ganga, solid as always, made 25 before he spooned a catch to mid-on after Courtney Browne gave Kurt Wilkinson the ball inside the first hour.

After reaching his half-century, Bravo went into a shell and could not get out. He spent 45 minutes over his last six runs before Sulieman Benn outfoxed him with a flighted delivery that induced a stroke to the on-side.

The ball came off the leading edge to provide Benn with the easiest of return catches.

Dumbfounded by his careless manner of dismissal, Bravo stood his ground in disbelief for about 20 seconds before trudging back to the pavilion with 56 against his name. It was a promising innings that included nine fours off 102 balls.

Trinidad and Tobago's main hope of extending the match into the final day rested with former West Indies batsman Lincoln Roberts.

He slashed a couple of streaky boundaries off Best, but could not cope with the pacer's fast, full length delivery that uprooted his off stump 20 minutes after lunch.

The extended morning session produced 120 runs for the loss of four scalps and the wickets continued after the break.

The first of those was wicket-keeper Navin Chase, who for some reason, waited on the umpire's decision after edging an attempted drive to slip off Benn.

It was now only a matter of time before Barbados would complete their victory, but little left-hander Zaheer Ali overcame his duck in the first innings by compiling a fighting 52 in two-and-a-quarter hours before slapping a catch to cover off Best.

Wilkinson, his place in the side questioned after a string of low scores, showed his bowling adds some value to the team.

At some stages, his medium-pacers were given the luxury of three slips and he responded by grabbing three wickets, the same number as Best, while there were two each for Benn and Ian Bradshaw.