By Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter 
Floyd Reifer of Barbados cutting past Rest of Leewards wicketkeeper Jason Williams at Melbourne Oval yesterday. Reifer ended with an unbeaten 70 as Barbados compiled a mammoth 323 for five off 50 overs. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
A COMBINATION of good batting and accurate bowling ensured an impressive 193-run victory for Barbados over the Rest of the Leewards in their Red Stripe Bowl match at Melbourne Oval yesterday.
Rest of the Leewards collapsed to 130 all out in reply to Barbados' mammoth 323 for five off 50 overs.
Dale Richards (81), Ryan Hinds (81), and Floyd Reifer (70 not out) all passed the half-century mark while Philo Wallace (36), Vasbert Drakes (22 not out) and Kurt Wilkinson (16) contributed with double figures.
Left-arm spinner Suliman Benn did more than his fair share of plundering, taking five for 18 as his team jumped to six points and joint leadership of Zone A alongside Jamaica.
Said Barbados' captain Courtney Browne: "We batted very well and bowled very well. We stuck to the plan and got a good start with Wallace and Richards. This was what we had worked towards so I'm very happy."
Wallace made 36 and Richards 81 in an opening stand of 66 before fastbowler Bront Defreitas sent Wallace packing in the tenth over.
Richards, who made a century in his team's opening game against the University of the West Indies (UWI) formed another formidable partnership with Hinds and together they added 120 for the second wicket before the former was run out in peculiar fashion - Hinds hit back a ball which bounced off the bowler's hands and onto the wicket with the batsman backing up and out of his crease.
That aside, it was bad news for the Leewards from the get-go as they lost their first three wickets for only 16 runs.
Collin Cannonier and Tonito Willit brought a ray of hope to the ailing side but their 47 and 27 runs respectively was not enough to change their fortune. Lanvil Harrigan, Carl Tuckett, Elsroy Powell and Chaka Hodge were all out for a duck.
"We didn't bowl well enough but our loss was really due to a lack of practice. The team is improving with each game so we'll see how it goes from here," said Alex Brown captain of the Leewards team.
The Rest of the Leewards will next play UWI at UWI tomorrow while the Bajans' next assignment is against St Vincent and the Grenadines at Chedwin Park on Friday.
Though favourites for a semi-final spot after winning both their games to date, Browne remained cautiously optimistic.
"Anything can happen in one day games so we just take it one game at a time. Of course we hope to continue winning but each situation is different. Our plan is to stay focused on the task and hand and work hard to come out with a favourable result," he said.
