by HAYDN GILL at Lester Vaughan

DEFLATED by the last-minute loss of three key players, Guardian General Barbados Youth were annihilated by one man yesterday.

Ryan Hinds transformed the replayed Sagicor General Cup semi-final from a close, controversial contest into a ruthless rollover of opponents who were still trying to come to grips with the developments of the preceding 24 hours.

Hinds bemused and bewildered the youngsters to grab six wickets for 22 runs from ten overs of crafty left-arm spin and then battered them in a billigerent run-a-ball unbeaten 54 that lifted ICBL Empire to an emphatic semi-final victory by eight wickets.

The bare figures sum up Empire's - to be more precise, Hinds' - dominance. Barbados Youth, batting first on a pitch that was juicy at the start after the match was delayed by 45 minutes because of rain - were bundled out for 103 in 36.4 overs.

With Hinds in the rampant mood, Empire raced to their target in only 20.4 overs and the match was over by 2:26 p.m., half-hour earlier than when BNB St Catherine crushed DaCosta Mannings Police in a similarly one-sided semi-final at Bayfield two weeks ago.

For a team which challenged Empire neck and neck on Independence Day when the match ended in chaos over miscalculations, this was a horrible performance from Barbados Youth.

They learnt the previous day that Shamarh Brooks, Javon Searles and Kemar Roach would not have been returning from Trinidad where they are participating in a camp for West Indies youth team contenders.

"I'm not looking for an excuse for the way we played, but losing these three guys affected the team a lot," coach Dexter Toppin told NATIONSPORT.

"These guys are match-winners. They were a big loss, but we did not apply ourselves.

"We lost the toss and had to bat on a pitch that had in a bit. The ball was holding up a bit and doing a bit off the seam."

Even so, they overcame the most difficult part at the start to reach 39 for two in the 14th over.

It was here that Hinds was introduced and it was downhill for Barbados Youth - the next eight wickets fell for 40 runs.

Hinds needed only five balls to make a mark.

Those who were tentative were either bowled or caught close in and those who tried to get after him paid the price.

When he was out of the attack, Barbados Youth tried to rally in a last-wicket stand, with Shamar Cooke, the youngsters' best player on the day with bat and ball, hitting an unbeaten 30.

Empire's victory wasn't entirely all about Hinds. Robin Parris' ten overs of left-arm spin yielded only 22 runs, Ryan Nurse grabbed the first wicket with a lifter and conceded only 19 runs from his eight overs.

After Empire lost both openers for 24, Shawn Graham supported Hinds with an undefeated 28 in a third-wicket partnership of 82 before the star of the day ended the no-contest with his ninth boundary.

SCOREBOARD:

BARBADOS YOUTH

*N. Squires c A. Holder b Nurse 4

O. Phillips c Stoute b Hinds 3

N. Carter run out 15

N. Parris c R. Holder b Hinds 4

M. Trotman c Nurse b Hinds 1

J. Carter c wk Haynes b Hinds 9

+J. Niles b Hinds 1

A. Nurse b Hinds 9

S. Cooke not out 30

C. Jordan b R. Parris 1

S. Pinder not out 0

Extras (lb2, w15, nb9) 26

TOTAL (all out - 36.4 overs) 103

Wkts fell at: 11, 39, 39, 43, 57, 57, 66, 70, 79, 103.

Bowling: Perryman 6.4-2-28-0, Nurse 8-2-19-1, Stoute 2-0-10-0, Hinds 10-1-22-6, R. Parris 10-3-22-1.

EMPIRE

*+J. Haynes lbw b Cooke 12

J. Parris run out 5

S. Graham not out 28

R. Hinds not out 54

Extras (nb7) 7

TOTAL (2 wkts - 20.4 overs) 106

Wkts fell at: 14, 24.

Did not bat: A. Holder, R. Holder, K. Stoute, R. Parris, J, Smith, R, Nurse, I. Perryman.

Bowling: Jordan 4-0-23-0. Cooke 8-2-28-1, Pinder 1-0-10-0, J. Carter 5.4-0-38-1, Nurse 2-0-7-0.

Result: Empire won by eight wickets at 2:26 p.m. with 29.4 overs to spare.

Man-Of-The-Match: Ryan Hinds (Empire).

Adjudicator: Cardinal Ward.

Umpires: Tunley Franklyn, Hartley Reid.

Match referee: Vincent Lashley.

haydngill@nationnews.com