England Lions made an encouraging start in reply to Barbados’ first innings 471 despite being kept in the field for the better part of two days.
Even with the early loss of Jimmy Adams’ wicket, the England “A” side proceeded at a rate of more than four runs an over in racking up 101 for one after dismissing the hosts, who lost their last eight wickets for 99 runs.
Overnight not out batsmen Kirk Edwards and captain Ryan Hinds extended their punishing third-wicket alliance into the post-lunch session before both fell to pacer Jade Dernbach. Their dismissals threw the innings into terminal decline.
A shower ten minutes before the scheduled start resulted in a delay of exactly one hour before Edwards and Hinds – who came together in the middle of the first day’s play – were able to continue from the overnight 276 for two.
Edwards, resuming on 126 in overcast conditions, collected the day’s first runs, picking up two into the onside off the final delivery of the third over.
Hinds (80 not out overnight) uppercut Plunkett to third man for the first boundary.
Maurice Chambers, who replaced Plunkett after 11 overs, started with an optimistic appeal for leg before wicket against the Barbados captain. But Hinds then steered the Jamaican-born right-arm medium-fast bowler to the third-man fence to register his 12th first-class hundred off 192 balls in 269 minutes with 12 fours and a six.
Edwards duly moved past the 150-mark as Hinds took the attack to the bowlers, taking a particular liking to Chambers, whom he clouted for three consecutive boundaries in the bowler’s second over.
Hinds kept up the rampage in the following over, hammering James Harris to the right of mid-off for four, prompting Lions captain James Hildreth to remove both bowlers from the attack.
Danny Briggs, a slow left-arm orthodox spinner, was introduced from the northern end for the first time for the day and Dernbach, the best of the bowlers on show, took over at the south.
The change worked to the Lions’ advantage, with Dernbach bowling Hinds with the second ball of the spell for 135 as the left-hander tried to make room for an attacking shot through the offside.
Hinds’ 232-ball knock came in 323 minutes and he tallied 17 fours and a six.
The partnership between himself and Edwards yielded 272 but the breakthrough seemed to inspire new life in the English outfit.
Edwards survived a very close call for run out after midwicket fielder James Taylor scored a direct hit at the non-striker’s end as the batsman scrambled a quick single.
He only managed another single before he provided Dernbach with his third scalp, caught at the wicket off a top-edged hook for a career-best 171.
In a marathon eight-hour stay at the crease the West Indies “A” batsman stroked 13 fours along with the six that took him to the century on Friday.
He faced 353 balls.
Three further wickets tumbled in the extended middle session, as the lower middle order failed to exploit the benign pitch.
All-rounder Kevin Stoute played down the wrong line to lose his off stump to Plunkett, while Briggs soon snapped up the first of three wickets, Kyle Hope bowled playing across the line after promising much more than the 41 he made.
Adam Lyth held onto a sharp catch at leg slip to get rid of wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich for no score, while Shamarh Brooks – who added 32 with Jason Holder for the eighth wicket – sliced a Dernbach slower ball to Plunkett in the gully after making 24.
The Bajans chose to carry on after the tea interval when the score had reached 457 for 7, but the innings was quickly wrapped up by Briggs, who utilized the strong breeze expertly, and Dernbach, who deservedly finished with a five-wicket haul (five for 84).
Brothers Fidel Edwards and Pedro Collins opened with the new ball when Barbados took the field but while the former – making a comeback to first-class competition for the first time in more than a year – struggled to find his rhythm, Collins found the outside edge of Jimmy Adams’ bat for Hinds in the gully to hold a smart catch in his fourth over.
But neither opening bat Adam Lyth nor No. 3 Andrew Gale spared the wayward bowling attack as they scored freely to post 80 at better than four runs an over.