TINO BEST was back. Fidel Edwards partnered him with the new ball at the opposite end. But it was young Jason Holder who created the biggest impression for Barbados at Kensington Oval yesterday.
The tall 19-year-old fast bowler grabbed four wickets in two impressive spells in which he claimed two scalps in both on the opening day of the third- round WICB four-day cricket match against Jamaica.
The lack of consistent support, however, contributed to an otherwise disappointing day for the home team, and joint front-runners Jamaica reached a satisfying 316 for five at stumps.
Anticipation over whether Best would automatically return to the starting line-up after a one-match suspension ended an hour before the start when news emerged that Pedro Collins would be unavailable because of a lower back problem.
The ebullient Best did very little of note, apart from sending left-handed Test batsman Brendan Nash to hospital and a post-tea effort in which he removed Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert for 55.
It was one of three half-centuries for Jamaica, whose solid effort was dominated by Danza Hyatt’s commanding 94 at the top of the order and a stylish unbeaten 84 by Dave Bernard Jr on another benign Kensington strip.
Some observers were surprised that Barbados chose to field on winning the toss after the run-feast we witnessed here last weekend and against the background that they conceded nearly 1 000 runs in taking 20 wickets in the first two matches.
Jamaica’s biggest setback was a first-ball duck from in-form Marlon Samuels.
Samuels arrived in the middle after Hyatt and Simon Jackson put on 39 at a run-a-minute and Holder induced him into playing across one that was pitched up.
It came immediately after the bowler had produced a ball that moved away from the left-handed Jackson to take the edge of his bat on the way through to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich to end an innings that promised much but was cut short at 41.
By then, a crowd that included about 100 students from the nearby Westbury Primary had seen an impressive tally of boundaries that eventually swelled to 29 fours and seven sixes – a boundary every three overs.
In other words, too many bad balls came along. The exception to this was the effort of Holder, who came back in the post-lunch session to effect another double strike.
Hyatt, never afraid to play his strokes, was marching towards his second first-class hundred when Holder denied him the satisfaction with a super left-handed return catch to end an impressive innings that included 15 fours and a six from 110 balls.
Wavell Hinds was kept scoreless for 18 balls before Holder induced him into a big drive. The feet hardly moved and the end result was an edged catch to Dowrich, who looked better behind the stumps than on his last occasion.
When Holder was out of the attack, Barbados seemed to lack that cutting edge despite Edwards and Best causing a few problems.
Best produced a lifter that cannoned into Nash’s helmet. The West Indies batsman took his eyes off a ball that rushed onto him and it was evident that it was a major blow.
He left the playing area after a few moments of treatment and went to hospital where he received seven stitches to his right ear.
A measure of the friendly nature of the pitch was that captain Ryan Hinds brought himself on to bowl left-arm spin after only seven overs. It was only for one over but when he came back on later, he again proved to be steady in 18 overs that cost only 27.
Leg-spinner Shamarh Brooks started with a fine over but again served up too many bad balls and had to be pulled out after six overs that went for 26.He was smashed for two sixes in one over by the polished Bernard who will resume this morning 16 shy of his fifth first-class century.
Log onto www.nationnews.com/live today for updates.