KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Barbados kept their slim hopes alive in the TCL Group West Indies One-Day Trophy Under-19 tournament when they posted a battling three-wicket victory over Guyana at Chedwin Park yesterday.
Guyana made 141 all out in 44.1 overs in the third-round fixture and Barbados replied with 145 for seven off 47.3 overs to record their second win in three games.
Set what appeared to be the modest 142 runs for victory in their allotted 50 overs, the Barbados top-order faltered badly before Dario Cummins, with 34 not out, and Mario Rampersad (nine not out) guided them home through an unbroken eighth-wicket partnership of 34 runs.
The pair came together after captain Jason Holder was dismissed in the 42nd over to leave them at a wobbly 111 for seven and the Guyanese sensing the chance of scoring an upset victory.
But Cummins, who played sensibly, and reserve wicket-keeper/batsman Rampersad, rallied the innings and kept the probing Guyanese bowlers at bay.
Roston Chase (28) and Kraigg Brathwaite (21) were the next highest scorers for Barbados.
Cummins hit five fours in his 49-ball knock and was eventually adjudged man of the match.
Rampersad also had a good day behind the stumps with five victims as the Barbadians rebounded from Saturday’s loss to Trinidad and Tobago and repeated the win they had over the Guyanese in the three-day tournament.
Left-arm spinner Anthony Adams, who created the early trouble for Barbados, finished with splendid figures of four for 15 off 10 overs.
Earlier, Guyana elected to bat in perfect batting conditions but none of their batsmen came to grips with combined efforts of the Barbados bowling and they were dismissed with more than five overs remaining.
The slide was started by captain Holder, who – with just three runs on the board — had the dangerous left-handed opener Trevon Griffith caught behind by Rampersad, who was doing wicket-keeping duties for the first time in the series.
Griffith, the most prolific scorer in the three-day tournament with 406 runs, made only one.
It quickly became 11 for two when Marques Clarke, Holder’s new-ball partner, dislodged Jeetendra Sookdeo, caught behind for five.
Alex Amsterdam and Jonathon Foo temporarily halted the slide before Clarke, in an inspired unbroken spell of 10 overs, had Foo (13) caught behind for another Rampersad victim.
Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was introduced and he quickly accounted Amsterdam (15), also caught behind.
At that stage Guyana were 45 for four and despite the efforts of Seon Hetmyer, their eventual top-scorer with 28, and toward the end Keon Joseph with an undefeated 24, Guyana really never recovered from their disastrous start and were dismissed — at 12:28 pm local time – more than half an hour before the scheduled innings break.
Hetmyer struck one four during his 53-ball innings while Joseph faced 45 balls and had two fours.
Off-spinner Chase accounted for the last three batsmen to finish with three for 21, while Warrican (2-24), Clarke (2-29) and the left-arm spinner Cummins (2-33) shared six wickets.
