by EZRA STUART

BARBADOS' YOUTH CRICKETERS are off and running in the 2008 TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Challenge.

They routed the Windward Islands for a meagre 105 and responded with 101 for three at stumps, just five runs away from first innings lead on the opening day of their first-round match on an easy-paced pitch at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus, yesterday.

Captain Kyle Corbin (23), débutants Kraigg Brathwaite (30) and Roston Chase (27), the three Bajan batsmen to fall, all got starts but none got a sizeable score.

It is now up to not out batsmen Rashidi Boucher and Dario Cummins and the middle and lower order to cement Barbados' position when play resumes at 10 a.m. today.

Hopefully, the officials will opt to use the large scoreboard so spectators can follow the progress of the match, and also put a P.A. system in place so the players can be identified when they are batting or bowling.

The Windwards batsmen, except for captain Keron Cottoy, who made an intelligent unbeaten 59, including six fours, off 108 balls in 145 minutes, simply lacked the class and character to cope with Barbados' varied bowling attack and capitulated half-hour before tea.

Fast bowlers Randall Hoyte and Diego Stuart knocked off the top half with two scalps each in their restricted six-over new ball spells, leaving the Windwards tottering on 18 for five.

Direct throw

The Windwards' woes had started in the day's first over when opener Wayne Harper was superbly run out by Dario Vaughan's direct throw which shattered the stumps at the bowler's end.

The strapping Hoyte, with a bustling open-chested approach similar to former Barbados and West Indies paceman Wayne Daniel, struck in his second over when Denis Smith top-edged a bouncer onto the helmet and the ball ballooned to point where the diminutive Dario Cummins somehow juggled a dolly before clutching the ball on the second attempt.

Snick

Watched by his brother Wilan Louis, the Barbados Olympic athlete, Hoyte then lured Junior Jervier to snick a full-length delivery to wicket-keeper Kemal Smith.

Stuart got into the act, producing an outswinger which Kavem Hodge nibbled behind to Smith and, in his next over, trapped Marvin Small leg before wicket for a "duck" as he shuffled across the stumps.

In accordance with the playing conditions, which restrict fast bowlers to six overs a session, both Hoyte and Stuart had to be withdrawn from the attack at that stage, giving the Windwards batsmen a temporary respite.

Six-footer Jason Holder was steady in a six-over spell, while Chase, trundling off-breaks, beat the bat several times without much luck as Cottoy or Dalton Polius, the only other batsman to reach a double-digit score with 19, tried to resuscitate the ailing innings.

Leg-spinner Shadd Simmons, in his only over before lunch, lured Polius to lift a catch to Holder at mid-on but was unlucky as the same fielder misjudged a high catch offered by Delorn Johnson off the next delivery.

Resuming at 44 for six at lunch, the Windwards wobbled to 60 for nine as a sharp off-cutter from Chase found the edge of Johnson's bat and Smith held a smart catch to his left, while Oscar George edged another off-spinner from Chase to Corbin at first slip.

Vincent Lewis was then run out without scoring by an alert Stuart, who ran to the bowler's end and removed the bails after Simmons spilled an accurate throw from deep square leg by Cummins.

But Cottoy got excellent support from last man Alton Audain and the pair accumulated 45 valuable runs for the last wicket before leg-spinner Vaughan trapped Audain leg-before-wicket in his second over.

Tame end

In reply, Barbados moved to 18 without loss at tea, but on resumption Corbin edged a leg-break from Cottoy to wicket-keeper Smith.

Chase joined his Combermere colleague Brathwaite and struck both spinners Audain and Cottoy for sixes in successive overs over mid-wicket and forward square, but his 39-minute, 44-ball cameo came to a tame end when he pushed a catch to short extra cover off Audain.

Unfortunately, the 15-year-old Brathwaite, who had buckled down in his cool, calm and confident style for 156 minutes and 123 balls, hitting a solitary boundary, trod on his stumps just before the close after pulling an innocuous short ball from Polius to mid-wicket.

This brought the experienced Boucher, who had left the venue earlier for medical attention, to the crease at No. 5.

SCOREBOARD

Barbados vs Windward Islands

(AT THREE Ws OVAL)

Toss: Barbados; Pitch: placid; Weather: sunny; Outfield: slow.

Windward Islands 1st innings

W. Harper run out 0

+D. Smith c Cummins b Hoyte 2

K. Hodge c wk Smith b Stuart 3

J. Jervier c wk Smith b Hoyte 3

D. Polius c Holder b Simmons 19

M. Small lbw b Stuart 0

*K. Cottoy not out 59

D. Johnson c wk Smith b Chase 4

O. George c Corbin Chase 0

V. Lewis run out 0

A. Audain lbw b Vaughan 6

Extras (b1, lb1, nb6, w1) 10

TOTAL (all out – 44.3 overs) 105

Wkts fell at: 1-0, 2-0, 3-10, 4-14, 5-18, 6-40, 7-51, 8-53, 9-60, 10-105.

Bowling: Stuart 10-3-19-2, Hoyte 8-1-29-2 (nb6), Holder 6-2-6-0, Chase 13-5-26-2 (w1), Simmons 6-0-21-1, Vaughan 1.3-0-2-1.

Barbados 1st innings

*K. Corbin c wk Smith b Cottoy 23

K. Brathwaite hit wicket b Polius 30

R. Chase c Cottoy b Audain 27

D. Cummins not out 9

R. Boucher not out 6

Extras (lb1, w2, nb3) 6

TOTAL (3 wkts – 43 overs) 101

Wkts fell at: 1-38, 2-77, 3-95

Bowling: Johnson 9-2-21-0, Lewis 5-016-0 (w1), Audain 14-4-29-1 (nb2), Cottoy 13-5-27-1 (w1, nb1), Polius 2-0-7-1.

To bat: J. Holder, +K. Smith, D. Stuart, S. Simmons, D. Vaughan, R. Hoyte.

Umpires: Anthony Farrell, Martin Parris.