Kraigg Brathwaite was left stranded nine runs shy of a century as Barbados suffered a second humiliating capitulation against the Windward Islands on the way to a 216-run defeat in the WICB regional four-day competition at Kensington Oval yesterday.
Brathwaite’s battling unbeaten 91 off 267 balls occupied 280 minutes and 11 fours and six, but he received little support, apart from 41 and 38 from Rashidi Boucher and Jason Holder respectively.
Set an unlikely 422 to win after the visitors declared their second innings on 301 for four, the home team crumbled in a shade over two full sessions on the third day for 205 in 80.2 overs. It was their second defeat of the season.
West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford kept up his prolific wicket-taking form in capturing eight for 80 from 37 consecutive overs on the way to overall match figures of 12 for 108.
Captain Liam Sebastien (2-44) chipped in with the other two wickets and actually administered the final blow when he had last man Miguel Cummins caught under the bat by Johnson Charles with less than half-hour remaining for the day.
Earlier, Windwards opener Devon Smith took his overnight 123 to 150 and the declaration was made as soon as he achieved the landmark with the total 301 for four, after resuming on 252 for two.
Smith’s sparkling innings spanned the duration of the innings (329 minutes), 267 balls and contained 21 boundaries.
Brathwaite and Boucher began Barbados’ “chase” in confident fashion with the latter in particular prepared to carry the attack to new ball bowlers Nelon Pascal and Kenroy Peters.
The pair safely negotiated the remainder of the first session to post 41 by the break.
The stand was worth 68 when almost against the run of play Boucher miscued a lofted drive off Shillingford for Mathurin, running back from mid-on, to take a well-judged catch.
It was the first of five catches for Mathurin, who held onto the second offered by Barbados captain Kirk Edwards, who picked out the fielder as he failed to keep his on-drive along the turf before opening his account.
Six Barbados wickets toppled in the afternoon session, all to Shillingford, who completed a sixth career ten-wicket haul in first-class matches.
Brathwaite got a chance when on 28 as Charles failed to hold on to a sharp catch off the shoulder of the bat but was afterwards unblemished.
With wickets tumbling around him he even ventured away from his defensive style to lift Mathurin for a six over midwicket and a couple of fours in the left-arm spinner’s next over.
Six fours and that six had been his main scoring shots when he passed 50 off 135 balls in 149 minutes and at tea taken on 125 for six had reached 57.
On resumption Holder took centre stage. The tall right-hander, touted by many pundits as a potentially better batsman than bowler, was the only batsman willing to use his feet and advance down the pitch to Shillingford.
A perfectly-executed straight drive was the shot of the day and he counted a six off Shillingford and six fours in his 45-ball, 62-minutes knock.
His dismissal, lbw playing back to Sebastien, precipitated the final clatter of wickets.
