Date January 17, 2006 by HAYDN GILL at 3Ws Oval

Compliments of the Nation News

IN A TOURNAMENT where victories have been few and far between, Barbados' ten-wicket win over Jamaica yesterday will go a long way towards winning the Carib Cup.

They don't quite have the look of champions yet, but they are getting there and the victory pushed them top of the standings.

Yesterday, the Bajans wasted no time in completing a win that was obvious at the end of the third day.

It took them 54 minutes to perform the final rites, polishing off Jamaica's last two wickets for nine runs and achieving a straightforward target of 30 in no time with little bother.

"We have been playing really good team cricket," Barbados captain Ryan Hinds said after the match.

"The bowlers set up the game nicely for us on the first day with some early wickets, and then we batted well as a team."

This was only the second outright result in eight matches in the competition and the victory pushed Barbados to 24 points, six more than Trinidad and Tobago, the pre-series leaders who were not in action this weekend.

Barbados have two more matches against the Leeward Islands in St Thomas from January 27 to 30, and against Trinidad and Tobago from February 2 to 5 at the Carlton Club in what could be a title-decider.

"This season, I think we have a really balanced side, and we are batting and bowling well, so things have been going well so far," Hinds said.

"It's still early days yet in this competition. We need to continue playing good cricket and, hopefully, we can go on and win the Cup."

After Jamaica resumed their second innings of 310 for eight following a first innings deficit of 290, Fidel Edwards won a lbw decision against Nikita Miller and Ian Bradshaw had Jerome Taylor caught at extra-cover.

It was Edwards' fourth wicket of the innings and seventh of the match and he won adjudicator Joseph Harris' vote for the Man-Of-The-Match.

Barbados raced to their target in only 3.4 overs with Patrick Browne, opening the batting because Wayne Blackman spent a period off the field with an injured hand, stroked five fours in his 21 off only 12 balls.

With a win and first innings points in two other matches, Barbados are well set, but the captain still has a few areas of concern.

"We've been dropping too many catches," Hinds said.

"The coach has been working really hard with us. We've been having some two-and-a-half hour sessions with fielding and hopefully we can get things right for the Leewards game and the Trinidad game."

Barbados captain Ryan Hinds (left) being congratulated on his Man-Of-The-Match performance by selector Thelston Payne yesterday after Barbados easily defeated the Leeward Islands. January 31, 2006

SCOREBOARD:

JAMAICA 1st Innings 129

BARBADOS 1st Innings 419

JAMAICA 2nd Innings (overnight 310-8)

X. Marshall lbw b Nurse 22

B. Parchment c wk Browne b Edwards 6

S. Findlay c wk Browne b Edwards 0

M. Samuels c and b Smith 36

*W. Hinds c Bradshaw b Austin 82

T. Lambert lbw b Edwards 54

+C. Baugh c Hinds b Bradshaw 75

G. Breese c Reifer b Bradshaw 0

N. Miller lbw b Edwards 12

J. Taylor c Holder b Bradshaw 9

A. Richardson not out 5

Extras (b5, lb5, w2, nb6) 18

TOTAL (all out - 98 overs) 319

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Parchment), 2-20 (Findlay), 3-64 (Marshall), 4-68 (Samuels), 5-153 (Lambert), 6-270 (Baugh), 7-270 (Breese), 8-303 (Hinds), 9-311 (Miller), 10-319 (Taylor).

Bowling: Edwards 18-3-75-4 (w2, nb2), Bradshaw 24-5-82-3, Nurse 16-5-55-1, Smith 12-4-31-1 (nb1), Austin 19-8-33-1 (nb2), Hinds 9-2-33-0 (nb1).

BARBADOS 2nd Innings

D. Richards not out 9

+P. Browne not out 21

TOTAL (no wkt - 3.4 overs) 30

Bowling: Taylor 2-0-19-0, Breese 1.4-0-11-0.

Result: Barbados won by ten wickets at 10:54 a.m. on the final day.

Points: Barbados 12, Jamaica 0.

Man-Of-The-Match: Fidel Edwards.

Adjudicator: Joseph Harris.

Umpires: Vincent Bullen (Barbados), Vincent Weekes (Nevis). Stand-by: Tunley Franklyn (Barbados).

Match referee: Hartley Reid.

Date January 31, 2006

by HAYDN GILL in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Compliments of the Nation News

CHARLOTTE AMALIE - Barbados duly completed their expected victory over the Leeward Islands within half-hour here yesterday morning, but, more significantly, the Windward Islands did them a huge favour in the evening.

Seven hours after Barbados won by 173 runs at the Addelita Cancryn High School ground, Windwards pulled off a remarkable victory by 86 runs over joint pre-series leaders Trinidad and Tobago at Shaw Park in Tobago.

It means that once Ryan Hinds' men avoid defeat against Trinidad and Tobago at the weekend, Barbados will be assured of regaining the Carib Beer Cup.

"We are a step closer, but we still don't want to get into the Trinidad game over-confident," Hinds said.

"We'll be looking to play a good all-round game there."

Barbados' victory over the Leewards, attained 28 minutes into the final morning, was their second in succession and pushed them to 36 points ahead of the final round of preliminary matches.

While the final result was inevitable, there was a bit of excitement in the limited play.

Steve Liburd, a 20-year-old Kittitian playing only his second first-class match, remarkably moved from his overnight 43 to 95 with a calculated assault on Barbados spinners Ryan Austin and Ryan Hinds.

In the seven overs the Leewards survived, another 54 runs were added before they were dismissed for 236. Liburd's domination was underlined to the extent that No. 11 did not score a single run.

Liburd, who smacked three sixes and 12 fours in his unbeaten innings, also effectively retained the strike for most of the morning. He was very severe on Austin, whose three overs cost 33 runs, and Hinds, whose three went for 20.

After the mayhem, Hinds brought on pacer Fidel Edwards who had the opportunity to bowl at Hamer at the start of the day's seventh over. It turned out be the last with Edwards knocking out Hamer's leg-stump with the final ball of the over.

"We played really good team cricket. We set up the game nicely on the first day and we bowled really well on the second day," Hinds said after the game in which he was named Man-Of-The-Match for his two centuries.

"Ian Bradshaw put up his hand to be counted. He was very impressive. Fidel Edwards bowled quickly. I was also impressed by Ryan Austin who is making a name for himself. He's been working really hard. It is nice to see him coming in and getting wickets."

Austin undermined the Leewards second innings with a five-wicket haul that followed up his three wickets in the first innings.

l haydngill@nation news.com

Scoreboard

BARBADOS 1st Innings 360

LEEWARD ISLANDS 1st Innings 258

BARBADOS 2nd Innings 307

LEEWARD ISLANDS 2nd Innings

(overnight 172-9)

S. Jeffers c Hinds b Austin 36

A. Richards c Hinds b Edwards 16

R. Morton b Hinds 31

*S. Joseph c Edwards b Austin 0

S. Liburd not out 95

W. Cornwall b Austin 0

O. Banks b Hinds 11

C. Simon c Holder b Austin 10

+A. Lesmond c Reifer b Austin 5

A. Sanford st Browne b Hinds 6

C. Hamer b Edwards 0

Extras (b7, lb4, nb15) 26

TOTAL (all out - 55 overs) 236

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Richards), 2-82 (Jeffers), 3-82 (Joseph), 4-118 (Morton), 5-119 (Cornwall), 6-139 (Banks), 7-152 (Simon), 8-165 (Lesmond), 9-172 (Sanford), 10-236 (Hamer).

Bowling: Edwards 6-0-23-2 (nb6), Bradshaw 5-2-15-0, Nurse 4-1-12-0, Hinds 22-1-83-2 (nb3), Austin 18-1-92-5 (nb3).

Result: Barbados won by 173 runs at 9:58 a.m.

Points: Barbados 12, Leewards 0.

Man-Of-The-Match: Ryan Hinds.

Umpires: Clancy Mack (Antigua), Goaland Greaves (St Vincent). Stand-by: Howard Gumbs (St Thomas).

Match referee: Bernard Douglas.

Date February 02, 2006 by HAYDN GILL Compliments of the Nation News

IT'S THE 40TH YEAR of sponsored regional first-class competitions and the island with the richest cricket tradition in the region is on the verge of a 20th title. Barbados, for so long the established powerhouse in the region, are widely expected to be confirmed the 2005-06 Carib Cup champions this weekend. They come face to face with Trinidad and Tobago - Brian Lara and all - in the first first-class match at the Carlton Club and once they avoid defeat, the title is theirs. For some, it's almost inevitable, but the champagne hasn't been put on ice yet. "There is still a lot of work to be done as far as the cricket is concerned," Barbados coach Hendy Springer said yesterday. "The season is not finished until the last match is played. We set out this season to play some positive cricket and to improve as well. We've been doing that for the majority of the time and for this Trinidad game, our preparation and enthusiasm have not waned." Barbados start the match with 36 points, 12 more than Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana and even if Ryan Hinds' men lose, they will still stand a chance of Cup glory providing that Guyana beat Windward Islands in Grenada. It will result in a three-way tie at the top and calculators will break the deadlock. Even though Barbados will be guaranteed the Cup once they don't lose, the approach will be to press for a third successive victory, following victories over Jamaica and Leeward Islands. "If we get an opportunity to get first innings points, we will take it, but we're looking to get an outright win," Springer said. "We want to play positive cricket, as opposed to playing sit-back cricket. You don't want to lose, but if our cricket is going to improve as a team and as individuals, we've got to think about winning instead of thinking about not losing." Barbados were dealt a blow yesterday with the news that the dynamic Dwayne Smith will be sidelined with the thigh injury he sustained against Leeward Islands in St Thomas last weekend. Smith's unavailability paves the way for the return of Kurt Wilkinson to the starting 11 for the first time since the opening match in November, while uncapped Kurt Edwards has been called in to complete the 13-man squad. "It is always a blow to lose a person like Dwayne Smith who can strike the ball so well and is also worth something with the ball and in the field," Springer said.

TRINIS CHAMPS AFTER 21 YEARS. Carnival came early for the Trinidad and Tobago cricketers as they won the regional first-class title for the first time in 21 years, beating Barbados by 264 runs at the Carlton Club yesterday. Superstar batsman Brian Lara led the celebrations after the match ended, pouring champagne and beer over his teammates. The visitors started the match needing an outright win and they achieved it to finish level on points with Barbados. They took the trophy by virtue of winning the head-to-head encounter. Champions Trinidad and Tobago celebrating their capture of the Carib Beer Cup.

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