Resuming on 10 and 20 runs respectively, the pair added an important 83 runs for the third wicket taking the score to exactly 100 before Brooks lost his concentration and his wicket.
The pair had seen off the faster bowlers Raymon Reifer, Christopher Barnwell and Keon Joseph forcing Johnson to call upon his spinners and the move worked as Brooks, trying to play a Motie delivery to leg was caught by wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble for 41 and, after 31 overs, Barbados were 100-3 with Hope well set on 38.
Brooks’s dismissal meant the entry of test player Roston Chase and he immediately went on the attack. Chase took a liking to Permaul hitting him for a four and one six 9in one over while Hope duly reached his half century by hoisting a delivery from Motie over the ropes.
The fourth wicket partnership was worth 77 runs when Chase was stumped off the bowling of Permaul for 57. Jonathan Carter came and went almost immediately playing on to a delivery from Motie and when Leon Johnson held onto a blinder to dismiss Hope for 72 as the batsman’s attempted slog sweep off of Motie, ballooned only to be smartly taken at first slip by the skipper, the first innings battle seemed to have been tilted Guyana’s way.
However, the team was to make heavy weather of dismissing the remaining batsmen and several dropped chances did not help their chances.
With Shane Dowrich and Stoute seemingly entrenched, Johnson use his ace in the hole, taking the new ball with Barbados 236-6 and Dowrich well set on 40.
The move worked as, off the final ball of the first over bowled by Joseph, an attempted pull shot by Dowrich ended up in Shimron Hetmeyer’s lap and despite some later order resistance from Stoute and Greaves the Guyana Jaguars were able to dismiss their opponents for 288.
Batting a second time Guyana Jaguars lost Rajindra Chandrika to the first ball of the innings from Kemar Roach. Skipper Johnson attempted to counter attack, hitting a six and a four in making 13 but the Guyanese would have been glad to see the end of what was an absorbing third day’s play without losing any more wickets. Hetmeyer is not out on 14 and night watchman Motie not out on 1.
Today is the final day.
