Four-wicket hauls by rookie pacer Miguel Cummins and off-spinner Ashley Nurse kept Barbados in the ascendancy over Guyana on the second day of their Regional Four-Day cricket contest at Kensington Oval yesterday.
While they lacked a knockout punch, Barbados’ inexperienced bowlers chipped away purposefully at the Guyanese batsmen to carve out a sizeable first innings lead of 142.
After extending their overnight total of 267 for four to 367 with captain Kirk Edwards eventually falling for 120, Barbados had Guyana on the ropes at 170 for eight at one stage and in danger of not reaching the follow-on target.
But the visitors rallied to 225 due to an important 45-run ninth-wicket stand between wicket-keeper Derwin Christian, who made 37, and fast bowler Ronsford Beaton, 30 not out.
In the one over Barbados had to bat in their second innings before the close, they did not score.
Cummins, 22, in only his third first-class match, followed up his five for 58 in the first round against Jamaica with four for 42 off 13 overs while Nurse, in his second first-class game, ended with four for 74 in 18 overs.
It all went wrong for Guyana after they restarted from 11 without loss at lunch.
Teenage left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the son of the illustrious West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was brilliantly caught by Javon Searles at gully off pacer Christopher Jordan for five with the score on 12.
It became 20 for two when his opening partner Rajendra Chandrika snicked a low catch to wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich off Cummins.
Cummins struck again when Stephen Jacobs, who had a torrid time, facing 28 balls without scoring, fended a catch to Searles in the gully.
Guyana were then 41 for three but Leon Johnson, who was nearly run out on 22 by a direct throw from Jonathan Carter, and Assad Fudadin featured in a 48-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Johnson, after making 46 off 71 balls in 108 minutes with four fours and two sixes, fell on the stroke of tea when he went back to cut a ball from Nurse, and edged the ball into his stumps.
Guyana’s slide continued after the break with Nurse striking two telling blows by removing Fudadin and Christopher Barnwell as Guyana stuttered to 124 for six.
Fudadin had grafted 77 minutes and 61 balls for 14 before he played down the wrong line to Nurse and was adjudged leg before wicket by English umpire Nick Cook.
Barnwell played a couple of elegant drives in a fluent 23, which included three fours and a six over mid-wicket off Nurse, before he edged a cut into Dowrich’s gloves off the same bowler.
But with Barbados opting not to recall one of the frontline pacers, Guyana captain Veerasammy Permaul and Christian quickly added 45 in just 26 minutes for the seventh wicket.
Permaul struck six fours in a breezy 34 off 30 balls before he became too greedy and essayed a big drive at the off-spin of Roston Chase and was superbly caught at slip by Jordan.
One run later, Davendra Bishoo went for a “duck”, edging a drive to Jordan at slip to give Nurse his fourth wicket.
But Barbados were frustrated by Christian, who struck two sixes and two fours and Beaton, who hit Jordan for three of his four boundaries in one over, during a 75-minute stay at the crease.
Cummins wrapped up the innings by trapping Christian leg before wicket in the first over of a second spell and having lastman Kion Joseph well caught by Edwards in the covers.
Earlier, Barbados lost their last six wickets for an additional 100 runs after play started half-hour early.
Permaul removed overnight batsmen, Chase and Edwards, with the former falling for 28, offering the bowler a return catch while Edwards was snapped up at slip by Johnson. His innings which spanned 313 minutes and 195 balls, contained 13 fours and two sixes.
Dowrich, who was last out for 39, and Jordan with 23, then added 48 runs for the seventh wicket, before the latter was caught behind by Christian off Jacobs.
Nurse joined Dowrich but after making 19, gifted his hand when he was caught inside the long on boundary off Jacobs and Bishoo wrapped up the innings, trapping Searles leg before wicket for two and having Dowrich stumped by Christian, his fifth dismissal of the innings.
Dowrich’s knock included two fours and two sixes in 111 minutes off 85 minutes.