Barbados' wicketkeeper/batsman Patrick Browne hitting out during his valiant, but eventually futile, half-century against Trinidad and Tobago on Friday. (Picture by Brooks LaTouche Photography.)

by HAYDN GILL in Antigua

IT WAS almost unbelievable, but true. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

Any team worth their pinch of salt should successfully chase down a target of 121 in a Twenty20 match.

Barbados, however, made a meal of it in the first Stanford 20/20 semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago here on Friday night and blew their chances of a US$1 million pay day at the Stanford Cricket Ground.

One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why Barbados lost by five runs to hand Trinidad and Tobago a place in the final for a second time.

For one, a ploy to send pinch-hitters Ryan Nurse as an opener and captain Dwayne Smith at No. 3 wasn't absolutely necessary bearing in mind that the target wasn't imposing.

The fact that both fell early and were followed by the key wicket of Jonathan Carter led to a period of consolidation which maybe went on for too long when Patrick Browne and Ryan Hinds took eight overs to add 46.

Significantly, the 12 overs from the spin trio of Samuel Badree (leg), Sherwin Ganga (off) and Dave Mohammed (left-arm) proved a major challenge for Barbados as expected and only 54 runs came from that allotment.

More importantly, big-hitting at the death was virtually non-existent. How could you eke out only two runs from the 18th over when Barbados needed nine an over to win the match.

It was probably the decisive over from Mohammed and even though Barbados were given a lifeline in the form of three missed chances in the deep that were beneficial with two runs taken from every spill, they were up against it when they started the final over needing 14.

With 26 required from the last two overs, Barbados kept themselves in it by getting 12 from the previously mean Sherwin Ganga's whose long-hops at the end should have been blasted out of the ground.

At the time, Derick Bishop, capable batsman that he is, is not a big-hitter and even if he managed 15 off ten balls, Barbados might have been advised to send either Sulieman Benn, Tino Best or Khalid Springer in his place.

Even so, a known ball-beater, Alcindo Holder was in, but couldn't produce any fireworks, managing 11 off 12 balls without a boundary.

And, unbelievably, Barbados did not strike a single six and seven of the ten fours came from the bat of Browne, whose impressive 55 off 56 balls appeared to lay the platform for a victory. In the end, Barbados lost to Trinidad and Tobago for the ninth time in their last 11 meetings in all forms of the game.

Browne's effort won him the Man of the Match award and a consolation of US$25 000 which seemed like chicken feed compared to the US$500 000 Barbados would have been guaranteed if they had won the match.

While Nurse and Smith were the ones expected to kickstart things, Browne, with lovely, genuine strokes, batted like a gem at the start when Barbados raced to 24 without loss from three overs.

When Nurse and Smith fell in successive overs and Jonathan Carter could only manage a single from 11 balls before falling to a second successive fine, low catch to Lendl Simmons – one of which earned him the Play of the Day – Barbados had to check things. And, while a meaningful partnership followed, the asking rate kept climbing to the extent that more than eight runs an over were needed from the final five.

With the disappointment clearly etched on his face, it was a time of reflection for Smith.

"We lost the plot in the last couple of overs. We really tried. No one really went out there to lose. Everybody wanted to win. We were trying, but it's just that the guys really bowled well," he said.

"It feels really bad. Everybody will feel bad if you get knocked out at a semi-final stage. You are one step away from winning the competition. We have to take some positives out of this and look forward."

What happened at the end made everything that occured in the first-half of the match look like a distant memory.

Smith was at the heart of restricting Trinidad and Tobago when he grabbed four wickets for nine runs in 2.1 overs at the end.

Hinds was also very tight at the death and Barbados claimed the last six wickets for 18 runs after Barbados-born opener William Perkins, whose 40 off 30 balls with three sixes and three fours and Dwayne Bravo's 39 off 29 balls with two sixes and two fours appeared to give Trinidad and Tobago a cushion for a total in excess of 150.

SCOREBOARD

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

L. Simmons b Benn 5

W. Perkins c Benn b Bishop 43

*D. Ganga c Benn b Bishop 4

D. Bravo c Carter b Hinds 39

K. Pollard lbw b Springer 4

+D. Ramdin c Holder b Smith 6

D. Mohammed c wkpr Browne b Smith 2

R. Emrit not out 6

S. Badree b Smith 0

S. Ganga st Browne b Hinds 1

M. Dillon c wk Browne b Smith 1

Extras (lb5, w4) 9

TOTAL (all out – 19.1 overs) 120

Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Simmons, 5.5 overs), 2-3 (D. Ganga, 8.1), 3-66 (Perkins, 11.0), 4-80 (Pollard, 13.1), 5-102 (+Ramdin, 15.1), 6-110 (Bravo, 16.4), 7-112 (Mohammed, 17.3), 8-115 (Badree, 18.0), 9-119 (S. Ganga, 18.5), 10-120 (Ganga, 19.1).

Bowling: Best 4-0-15-0, Benn 4-1-21-1, Bishop 3-0-26-2, Springer 3-0-18-1, Nurse 1-0-18-0 (w2), Smith 2.1-0-9-4 (w1), Hinds 2-0-7-2.

BARBADOS

+P. Browne c Simmons b Mohammed 55

R. Nurse b Badree 4

*D. Smith c Simmons b S. Ganga 1

J. Carter c Simmons b S. Ganga 1

R. Hinds c wk Ramdin b Bravo 15

A. Holder not out 11

D. Bishop st Ramdin b Mohammed 15

S. Benn not out 3

Extras (b1, lb5, w4) 10

TOTAL (6 wkts – 20 overs) 115

Fall of wickets: 1-28 (Nurse, 3.4 overs), 2-29 (Smith, 4.2), 3-33 (Carter, 6.5), 4-79 (Hinds, 14.5), 5-112 (Bishop, 19.4).

Did not bat: K. Williams, K. Springer, T. Best.

Bowling: Dillon 2-0-19-0 (w1), Badree 4-0-14-1, S. Ganga 4-1-18-2, Emrit 2-0-14-0 (w2), Bravo 4-0-22-1, Mohammed 4-0-22-2.

Result: Trinidad and Tobago won by five runs.

Toss: Trinidad & Tobago.

Man of the Match: Patrick Browne.

Play of the Match: Lendl Simmons.

Umpires: Norman Malcolm (Jamaica), Goaland Greaves (St Vincent).

TV replays: Alvin James-Knight (Antigua).

Match referee: Austin Richards sr.