Kensington Oval was nearly as lifeless as the nearby Westbury Cemetery yesterday despite unbeaten half-centuries from Barbados Pride’s captain Shamarh Brooks and rookie opener Shayne Moseley.
When the final rites of the eighth-round Digicel Professional Cricket League regional first-class match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes were performed at 4:40 p.m, Barbados Pride were on 135 for one off 64 overs in their second innings.
Brooks finished on 69 not out in 191 minutes, while left-hander Moseley took 246 minutes over his 57 not out, with the dull and dreary draw confirming Guyana Jaguars as champions for the fourth consecutive year.
The Jaguars have an unassailable 135 points with two more rounds of matches left. Barbados Pride trail by 52.2 points in second position on 82.8, followed by the Leewards Hurricanes, who have 79.4 points.
Barbados Pride, probably mourning the loss of another regional four-day cricket title, with a slender first innings lead of 29, were unappealing during their batting display.
Brooks and Moseley opted for batting practice while featuring in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 125 runs during the last two sessions after opener Anthony Alleyne failed again.
Moseley, who took 47 balls and 70 minutes over his first two runs, hit five fours and two sixes off the 198 balls he faced overall while taking his aggregate to 412 runs in his maiden season of first-class cricket.
Brooks counted eight fours, mostly from classic cover drives and on-drives and a six in his 150-ball knock. He now has 401 runs in six matches.
Earlier, resuming on 241 for six after rain washed out the entire third day’s play, the Volcanoes were dismissed for 287 in 94.4 overs in reply to Barbados Pride’s first innings total of 316.
Fast bowler Kemar Roach ended with four for 75 off 22 overs while hard-working seamer Justin Greaves took the final two wickets for 54 runs off 22.4 overs.
Roach won a leg before wicket verdict against Kyle Mayers in the same over after the batsman had lifted him for a six over square leg.
A shower shortly after Mayers fell for 38, rain stopped play for 45 minutes. On resumption, Johnson drove Roach over mid-on for four and swung the next ball over mid-wicket into the Greenidge & Haynes Stand for six.
But his brief knock of 14 came to an end when he top-edged Greaves for debutant wicket-keeper Tevyn Walcott to claim his third catch of the innings.
Batting a second time just before lunch, the funeral pace procession began with openers Alleyne and Moseley crawling to four without loss off six overs at the interval.
On resumption, Alleyne’s woes continued when he replicated his first innings dismissal with another edge to Roland Cato at second slip.
Brooks got off the mark with an effortless six over long-on off Shane Shillingford. When he followed up with two elegant cover-driven boundaries and on-driven four in one over from left-arm spinner Larry Edward, it appeared a resurrection was pending.
Moseley also raised hopes of more enterprising batting by whipping Edward off his legs for a huge six over the Greenidge & Haynes Stand as Barbados Pride went to tea on 66 for one in 37 overs.
With Moseley resuming on 29 and Brooks on 28, the only interest in the post-tea session was whether both batsmen would reach their half-centuries. They duly obliged, with Moseley pulling Edward for his second six en route to his third 50 at this level to add to his maiden first-class hundred. (EZS)
