Barbados, Trinidad settle for draw

DENNERY, St Lucia – Nicholas Alexis and Keon Joseph used the casual atmosphere to get valuable batting practice, after rain forced a draw in what promised to be a thrilling climax between arch-rivals Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in the TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge, yesterday.Alexis fell for 99 and Keon Joseph stroked 63 as Trinidad and Toago, trailing by 35 runs on first innings, reached 175 for two in their second innings when the third and final day came to a close in the third-round match at the Dennery Playing Field.Alexis hit eight fours and four sixes from 136 balls in three hours of batting, and Joseph struck a half-dozen boundaries from 129 balls in just over 2 1/2 hours.The result meant that Barbados gained six points to move to third in the competition on 18 points – six ahead of Trinidad and Tobago, whose three points increased their tally to 12 to leave them fifth in the six-team competition.Barbados play old rivals Guyana at the same venue in the fourth round and Trinidad and Tobago take on Leeward Islands at the Gros-Islet Playing Field, starting tomorrow.Alexis and Joseph carried Trinidad to 91 without loss at tea, and returned after the break to complete a 172-run opening stand.In the final acts of the match, Joseph was stumped off Roston Chase, who bowled Alexis about 15 minutes later to bring the match to its inevitable conclusion. (CMC)ScoreboardTrinidad & Tobago vs Barbados(at Dennery)TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 1st Innings 235BARBADOS 1st Innings 270TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 2nd Innings (overnight 8-0)N. Alexis b Chase     99K. Joseph st Rampersad b Chase     63E. Lewis not out     0Extras (b5, lb4, w1, nb3)     13TOTAL (2 wkts, 45.5 overs)     175Fall of wickets: 1-172, 2-175.Bowling: Chase 10.5-4-35-2, Warrican 14-3-31-0, Wilkinson 4-0-21-0, Cummins 1-0-7-0, Greaves 6-0-17-0, Depeiza 4-0-19-0, Mayers 6-0-36-0.Result: Match drawnPoints: Barbados 6, T&T 0.Umpires: E. Bellas, S. McClean(CMC)