BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC:
RYAN NURSE and Pedro Collins shared eight wickets equally to bowl front-runners Barbados to first innings points over West Indies B in their top-of-the-table fourth round match of the Carib Beer 2004 Series at Three Ws Oval yesterday.
Nurse, also known as 'Chicken Breast', was the pick of the bowlers with a career-best four wickets for 19 runs from 10 overs and Collins supported with four for 38 from 13.2 overs as West Indies B, replying to Barbados' first innings total of 217, were bowled out for 131 about five minutes before revised tea break at 3:10 p.m.
Left-hander Shawn Findlay hit half-dozen boundaries in the top score of 41 from 88 balls from two hours of batting, but there was little substance or stability from the rest of the West Indies B batting.
Batting a second time, Barbados reached 82 for two when bad light stopped cricket 18 overs early with Shawn Graham unbeaten on 23 and Floyd Reifer not out on nought. Play on the third day will commence half-hour earlier to compensate for time lost yesterday.
For a variety of reasons, West Indies B faced a mountainous task of overhauling Barbados' first innings total when they continued from their overnight total of 30 for two. But early morning showers limited play before the lunch interval to 15 minutes in which time the B team reached 43 for two.
IDEAL TARGET
In a little under 2-1/2 hours West Indies B were bowled out and Barbados were contemplating what score would be the ideal target to set for victory. It all began to come apart for the B-Team when Danza Hyatt was lbw to Collins for 14 in the first over after the interval.
Findlay and Kenroy Williams, one of seven Barbadians in the B team, spent the next hour over 43 for the fourth wicket that was the highest stand of the innings. Collins broke the partnership when Findlay was bowled to leave the visitors 86 for four.
About this time, Barbados captain Courtney Browne was prompted to summon Nurse for his first spell to replace bowling dynamo Tino Best, who had endured six wicketless overs.
In his second over, Nurse struck Patrick Browne, another of the Barbadians in the side, was bowled for two to trigger a collapse that saw four wickets, all to Nurse, fall for 18 runs in the space of 6.3 overs.
Williams was caught at third slip off Nurse for 16, Austin Richards, Jr. was lbw to Nurse for eight, and Jason Bennett, another Barbadian, was bowled by Nurse for nought.
Ryan Austin, another Barbadian, had a late flourish and the last two wickets fell for 23 runs in the space of 19 balls.
With 50 overs before the close, enough time was available for out-of-form opening batsman Sherwin Campbell to score 45, but fell two balls prior to umpires Clancy Mack and Patrick Grazette offering the batsmen light.
