Gros Islet, St Lucia - The Windward Islands led a spirited fightback on Day 2 of their opening round Regional 4-Day match against Barbados at the Beausejour Cricket Ground.
Only two sessions were possible on Day 1 after rain ended play prematurely. Kraigg Brathwaite and Carlos Brathwaite were in the middle of leading a Barbados resurgence at Tea. The Bajans resumed their first innings on 152/5 with the skipper on 53 not out and his namesake on 37.
Barbados went on to score 213 and were bowled out just before Dinner on the second afternoon. Kraigg Brathwaite was the last man out for 82. Windwards pacer, Nelon Pascal, picked up his fifth 5-wicket haul in First Class cricket, finishing with 5-61. Alston Bobb and Kenroy Peters both took two wickets each.
The Windwards saw out a short, tricky, period to go to Dinner on 9/0 but after the resumption, pacer, Miguel Cummins fired for Barbados snaring two wickets in two balls to leave Windwards reeling at 28/2.
Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher sought to rebuild the innings as both came together in a crucial 42-run stand before Fletcher was caught behind off Tino Best, giving the Bajan pacer his 200th First Class wicket.
Charles quickly followed Fletcher as Kevin Stoute struck for the visitors to leave Windwards 70/4. But captain Liam Sebastien and Keddy Lesporis met and put on a solid stand to prevent any further damage.
By Tea, both batsmen had added 73 runs and taken the score to 143/4. Though Lesporis went soon after Tea, Sebastien soldiered on. He got to his 50 and met a willing partner in Lindon James.
Together, Sebastien and James took the home side to a lead, surpassing Barbados' first innings score.
Both were going strongly until Jonathan Carter was brought into the attack. The medium pacer almost immediately removed Sebastien for 62, then sent Alston Bobb back to the pavilion without scoring.
But James continued to bat solidly. He brought up his 50 from 91 balls, hitting four fours and a six. Wickets fell around him though. Cummins struck twice in the 64th over removing both Peters and Delorn Johnson.
The Windwards declared their innings on 252/9, with James on 62 not out. It gave the hosts a 39 run lead. Their hope of picking up a late wicket were dashed though as Kraigg Brathwaite and Rashidi Boucher too Barbados to stumps in their second innings on 11/0.
Day 3 starts at 2:30pm Eastern Caribbean Time tomorrow as the match continues to make up for lost time on Day 1.
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Summary Scores:
Barbados 1st Innings: 213 All Out (80.5 Overs). Kraigg Brathwaite* 82, Carlos Brathwaite 44, Tino Best 19, Kevin Stoute 19; Nelon Pascal 15-2-61-5, Kenroy Peters 19-9-29-2, Delorn Johnson 22-6-53-1, Liam Sebastien 16-3-34-0.
Windward Islands 1st Innings: 252/9 Declared (66.3 Overs). Lindon James+ 62*, Liam Sebastien* 62, Keddy Lesporis 43, Andre Fletcher 21; Miguel Cummins 11-0-49-4, Jonathan Carter 11-0-49-4, Kevin Stoute 5-1-21-1, Tino Best 10-2-51-1.
Barbados 2nd Innings: 11/0 (1 Over). Kraigg Brathwaite* 1*, Rashidi Boucher 6*; Delorn Johnson 1-0-7-0.
Stumps, Day 2
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Barbados 1st Innings
Kraigg Brathwaite* c Polius b Bobb 82
R Boucher c James b Pascal 2
R Chase c Smith b Johnson 0
J Carter c Smith b Peters 16
K Stoute c James b Pascal 19
S Dowrich+ c Smith b Peters 6
Carlos Brathwaite c James b Pascal 44
A Nurse c James b Pascal 0
S Benn b Pascal 0
T Best c Lesporis b Bobb 19
M Cummins not out 0
Total: 213 All Out (80.5 Overs)
Extras: (1B, 7LB, 6WD, 5NB) 19
Fall of Wickets: 1-7 (Boucher, 2.5 ov), 2-10 (Chase, 5.1 ov), 3-28 (Carter, 10.4 ov), 4-64 (Stoute, 19.1 ov), 5-86 (Dowrich, 30.4 ov), 6-175 (Carlos Brathwaite, 67.2 ov), 7-175 (Nurse, 68 ov), 8-175 (Benn, 69.4 ov), 9-206 (Best, 79 ov), 10-213 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 80.5 ov)
Windward Islands 1st Innings Bowling: Nelon Pascal 15-2-61-5, Delorn Johnson 22-6-53-1, Kenroy Peters 19-9-29-2, Alston Bobb 8.5-0-27-0, Liam Sebastien 16-3-34-0.
Windward Islands 1st Innings
D Smith c Boucher b Cummings 12
T Theophile LBW Cummings 13
J Charles c Carter b Stoute 20
A Fletcher c +Dowrich b Best 21
K Lesporis run out 43
L Sebastien* c +Dowrich b Carter 62
L James+ not out 62
A Bobb LBW Carter 0
K Peters c Benn b Cummings 4
D Johnson b Cummings 0
N Pascal not out 3
Total: 252/9 Declared (66.3 Overs)
Extras: (4B, 4LB, 3WD, 1NB) 12
Fall of Wickets: 1-28 (Smith, 7.1 ov), 2-28 (Theophile, 7.2 ov), 3-70 (Fletcher, 16.5 ov), 4-70 (Charles, 17.3 ov), 5-145 (Lesporis, 32.6 ov), 6-218 (Sebastien, 54.4 ov), 7-218 (Bobb, 54.6 ov), 8-236 (Peters, 63.2 ov), 9-236 (Johnson, 63.5 ov)
Barbados 1st Innings Bowling: Tino Best 10-2-51-1, Miguel Cummins 11-0-49-4, Carlos Brathwaite 10-1-37-0, Kevin Stoute 5-1-21-1, Sulieman Benn 14-3-41-0, Ashley Nurse 10-3-22-0, Jonathan Carter 6.3-1-23-2.
Barbados 2nd Innings (Trail; 39)
Kraigg Brathwaite* not out 1
R Boucher not out 6
Total: 11/0 (1 Over)
Extras: (4LB) 4
Windward Islands 2nd Innings Bowling: Delorn Johnson 1-0-7-0.
State of Match: Barbados trail Windward Islands in their 2nd Innings by 28 runs
Toss: Windward Islands won the toss and elected to field
Umpires: Leslie Reifer & Patrick Gustard
Standby Umpire: Francis Maurice
Match Referee: Patrick Felix