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Day 1: Even Stevens

If it were a heavyweight boxing match, Barbados would have won the first six rounds and Jamaica the final six.

In essence, the first day of their fifth round Busta Cup preliminary match was evenly shared, front-runners Barbados' 242 for five representing a Jamaica fightback after Jimmy Adams asked the home team to bat first.

In the first three hours, Barbados, seeking a record-equaling fifth successive victory, reached 136 for one on the strength of another solid Sherwin Campbell half-century and contrasting 30s from Philo Wallace and Adrian Griffith.

In the middle of a hot, sunny day, Adams might have been regretting his decision, but Jamaica, needing points to move forward to the semifinals, clawed their way back into the match with steady spin bowling in the final three hours.

The man chiefly responsible was Ricardo Powell. Picked mainly as a batsman, he was thrust into trundling off-breaks for much longer than he might have anticipated after seamer Laurie Williams was affected by a recurring thigh injury and unable to bowl after lunch.

On his only second appearance on the first-class scene, the 20-year-old former Jamaica youth captain and 1998 Nortel MVP took three prized wickets and brought off what was arguably the most sensational catch seen at Kensington Oval this season.

It came at a stage when Philo Wallace, just back from South Africa, was threatening to tear apart the Jamaica attack in a typically swashbuckling 33 off 44 balls with six meaty boundaries.

Wallace had just opened up his big shoulders and skied Williams over mid-on. It appeared a safe shot, but Powell turned, sprinted to make tremendous ground so that by the time he looked up, the ball was just over his head. Wallace might have had reason to believe he was still on the other side of the world.

Powell did nothing wrong after that magical moment. Tossing his off-breaks with a nice loop, he dismissed Campbell for 65, Roland Holder for 49 and Floyd Reifer for 31 in 24 tidy overs that cost him 46 runs.

Campbell again showed the resolve that has been the hallmark of his batting this season and seemed headed for his third century of the tournament when Powell removed him with the first ball after the refreshment break during the post-lunch session.

The bowler found a gap between bat and pad and Campbell was bowled for 65. His innings included 11 boundaries, most of which were authentic pulls, and a couple of on-drives.

While Campbell was genuinely beaten, Wallace, Griffith, Holder and Reifer were all victims of aggressive strokes against a three-man spin attack that also featured the fast, flat leg-breaks of Brian Murphy and the flighted bouncy off-spin of Nehemiah Perry.

Perry, whose 24 wickets made him the tournament's second highest wicket-taker before the match, bowled impressively but had nothing to show for his 32 overs of control in which he conceded 57 runs.

He, however, should have dismissed Holder when the Barbados captain was on 30.

Wavel Hinds, stationed at backward square, muff-ed a straightforward chance that any of the schoolboys in the Greenidge and Haynes Stand would have gobbled up.

It was the only blemish by Jamaica in the latter half of the day and Barbados managed just 52 runs in the final session when Ryan Hinds, who needed 28 balls for his first run, was content to defend.

In contrast, 79 runs came in the opening session and a further 111 between lunch and tea when Campbell, Holder and Reifer were dominant.

Campbell and Griffith fell in successive overs after a stand of 92, the latter hitting a simple return catch to Murphy after emerging from a cautious start to make 34 off 112 balls in nearly 2 1/2 hours' batting.

It brought Holder and Reifer together and both immediately stamped their authority.

Holder started with a late cut and an extra-cover drive off Powell, and Reifer unleashed two successive boundaries through extra-cover off Perry.

Both seemed surprised when given out off catches to 19-year-old wicket-keeper Matthew Sinclair, who did a fine job behind the stumps in only his second first-class match.

Their fourth-wicket partnership of 75 was ended half-hour after tea when left-hander Reifer edged an attempted cut. Forty-five minutes later, Holder was drawn into a drive which Sinclair took on the second attempt.

Holder's 49 off 112 balls included six fours.

During the morning session, Wallace became the third Barbadian, behind Desmond Haynes and Carlisle Best, to post 3 000 runs in regional first-class cricket.

Day 2: Leaders rained in

Those who feel the number 13 brings bad luck might have had justifiable reason to believe so yesterday.

After 12 days of fantastic sunshine, unseasonal rain finally had its first major effect on Day 13 at Kensington Oval, which coincidentally was the 13th day of the month.

In the process, the afternoon showers, which started just after 2 p.m. and wiped off a minimum of 36 overs, upset Barbados' plans and thwarted their bid for a record-equalling fifth successive victory in the 1999 Busta Cup.

Barbados had just been dismissed by Jamaica for the season's highest team score of 392, the innings ending with the dismissal of Courtney Browne for 72, his first first-class half-century since his knock of 78 against Guyana in 1997.

Browne was out to a catch at point off leg-spinner Brian Murphy after a brief period of scintillating strokes. The ball was not skied high enough to burst the dark, ominous clouds that had been hovering over the ground for more than an hour, but within moments rain was falling.

Initially, it was not heavy by any means, but it got heavier and was a big disappointment to another encouraging Saturday afternoon crowd.

The ``weather hog'' that had been lost during the Test match last season was present but that made no difference, especially when the rain was really belting down after 4 p.m.

There is still enough time for Barbados to try to force a win, but things will have to happen quickly over the last two days.

There are some who feel Barbados were guilty of not declaring after Browne passed his half-century but, in all fairness to the captain, there was always the threat of rain.

Browne was ultra-cautious against the spin of Murphy and Jimmy Adams as he approached his 50. But when last man Corey Collymore joined him, he proceeded to play some exciting strokes, none better than when he hit Adams over extra-cover for a six from an apparent push.

When Adams dropped the next delivery short, he was pulled to the Kensington Stand for one of the six fours from the Barbados wicket-keeper whose last three innings yielded a total of just six runs.

It was somewhat a mixed innings from Browne. While he was dominant at times during his four-hour vigil, there were occasions when he just pushed and prodded.

Browne and Ryan Hinds were at the heart of Barbados' effort in the pre-lunch session that produced 76 runs.

After the break, it was Hattian Graham's confident off-side shots that provided most of the entertainment, but with Browne on the defensive, Barbados managed only 40 runs in the first hour after lunch.

The left-handed Hinds, bogged down on Friday afternoon when he eked out nine in an hour-and-a-half, was much more confident. As was the case last Saturday during his 58 against Trinidad and Tobago, he was strong driving through extra-cover before falling an hour-and-a-quarter into the day's play.

Hinds, who turns 18 on Wednesday, was out for 35, an lbw victim as he tried to push forward to Laurie Williams' medium-pace with the second new ball.

Graham started solidly in his first match of the season before becoming the fifth Barbadian batsman to be dismissed in the 30s.

Both he and Browne were kept quite by Murphy's flat, fast leg-spin and when he finally decided to go after him, he edged a catch low to slip where it was neatly taken inches off the ground by a diving Mario Ventura. As Graham headed off, many felt that Browne, 51 at that stage, would have followed him, but there was no declaration.

Neither Winston Reid nor Pedro Collins could attack the bowling successfully and both perished in contrasting ways. The left-handed Reid's attempt to swing Adams ended in a running catch for wicket-keeper Matthew Sinclair, while Collins' defensive prod against Murphy gave a simple slip catch.

As it turned out, the 40 minutes Barbados utilised after Graham's dismissal at 1:25 p.m. brought out an additional 41 runs, most coming from the bat of Browne.

Sadly, the rain had the final say.

Day 3: Tail holds up show

It's becoming routine for Barbados to roll over brittle opposition, and yesterday was no different - until they became butter-fingered in the afternoon.

Roland Holder's buoyant boys, in search of a record-equalling fifth successive victory in the 1999 Busta Cup, made up for Saturday afternoon's washout by sweeping aside Jamaica for 195.

They did so despite an uncharacteristically high number of blunders. There were five clearly identifiable chances and one or two others that might have gone to hand.

Courtney Browne, absolutely perfect throughout the season, dropped a sharp, low chance and missed a stumping. Sherwin Campbell, the safest catcher on the field, muffed an easy one at slip, while Floyd Reifer and Pedro Collins were also on the list of offenders.

It made no significant difference but Barbados' lead of 197 was a lot less than what they would have been anticipating when Jamaica were reduced to 58 for six about 40 minutes after lunch.

No doubt Jamaica will be asked to follow-on this morning, and their task will be to bat out the entire final day to be assured of a place in the semifinals.

From Day 1, Jamaica gave the impression that they came here with the intention of trying merely not to lose the match. It was reflected for the better part of yesterday, moreso in the pre-lunch session in which they were able to muster only 34 runs.

When they were capitulating after lunch, it seemed almost certain that Barbados would restrict their opponents for a total of less than 150 for the fifth time this season.

Laurie Williams, however, brought some aggression to the Jamaica effort, and after he was out for 40 off 41 balls, young wicket-keeper Matthew Sinclair and No. 10 Brian Murphy dug in for just under two hours in a ninth-wicket partnership of 63.

It was during this period that Barbados were guilty of most of their mistakes. The 19-year-old Sinclair was missed three times and the home team seemed to lack purpose after tea.

Playing in only his second first-class match, Sinclair was a more competent batsman than his No. 9 position suggested and was unbeaten on 40 when the innings finally ended in the day's last over.

Murphy, known for his big hitting, also played responsibly for his 35 before he was a victim to an unplayable bouncer from Collins. The batsman gloved the ball to first slip where it was plucked out of air right-handed by Campbell.

Most of those at the ground were probably surprised that Jamaica batted for so long, especially after Barbados were running through their middle-order between lunch and tea. Before that, the Jamaicans struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Mario Ventura, in the unaccustomed role of opener, spent 2 1/2 hours over 20, his crawl emphasised in the day's second hour when he scored three runs.

Ventura, one of five left-handers in the top six, was very defensive against fast bowler Corey Collymore, who was so miserly that his first nine overs were maidens.

While Collymore enjoyed no success before lunch, Pedro Collins and Hattian Graham snared the first two wickets.

Graham accepted a fierce pull from Robert Samuels at mid-on in the day's fifth over and watched Browne tumble to his left to bring off yet another outstanding catch that accounted for Wavel Hinds.

Those who started to trickle into the Oval after lunch, when admission prices were reduced, might have been wondering if they were at a first-class match. Within 40 minutes, four men were gone, two each to Reid and Collins, who finished with four for 33 off 19 overs.

Jimmy Adams, let off by a diving Browne before he had scored, offered a regulation catch to the 'keeper off Collins, who also uprooted two of Ventura's stumps as the batsmen played right across the line.

In between, Ricardo Powell, the only right-hander in the top six, provided Reid with a return catch.

When Reid clutched a low offering from Nehemiah Perry, Barbados were well on top, but they allowed the big advantage to slip away by allowing Sinclair to benefit from chances on 19, 22 and 26.

Before Sinclair came in, Tony Powell helped Williams in a partnership of 34 before his square-drive in the first over of a new spell from Collymore resulted in a catch to cover-point.

Williams played some polished strokes and was the main reason Jamaica were able to post 88 runs in the pre-tea session. When he fell to a slip catch off Reid 15 minutes after tea, the end was seemingly around the corner.

But, Sinclair and Murphy, with the help of Barbados, had other ideas.

Day 4: Gritty Adams holds on

Jamaica force draw against Barbados

A missed chance, as easy as they come, and a typically fighting hundred from Jimmy Adams yesterday denied Barbados a grand opportunity of completing a record-equalling fifth successive victory in the 1999 Busta Cup.

As Hattian Graham, stationed at mid-on, settled under a skier offered by Jamaica's most dangerous batsman on the day, no one at Kensington Oval would have expected what was to follow.

To the dismay of his teammates, the ball popped in and out of his hands. Seemingly stunned, none of the other ten Barbadians on the field showed any reaction.

It was a bad miss very early into the final day.

Jamaica, still trying to come to terms with a nightmarish first three overs when three wickets dramatically went down for two runs, were 48 for three and still a long way from erasing their first innings deficit of 197.

The batsman who profited from Graham's miss was Ricardo Powell. Nineteen at the time, he responded to his let-off with a series of cracking off-side strokes, and by the time he was dismissed 45 minutes after lunch, he had made 80.

Those runs were made off only 123 balls in 2 1/2 hours, and were made at a stage when his captain Adams was unrecognisable as a batsman with an average of over 50 in Test cricket.

While Powell was impressively flaying the attack with 11 fours and two sixes, Adams was gradually becoming assured. He somehow survived his early difficulties and battled illness and injury on the way to a century that was just as crucial in helping Jamaica's cause.

The left-handed Adams was unbeaten on exactly 100 when the match was called off with Jamaica on 258 for six, but he did not seem likely to survive the morning session when he was repeatedly playing across his front pad in unconvincing fashion.

As he spent more time in the middle, he was as solid as could be, but when he was on 74 and 99, Barbados were supremely confident that he should have been given out.

On the first occasion he survived a raucous appeal for lbw against left-arm pacer Pedro Collins when the bowler forced him back on his stumps. One away from his 21st first-class hundred, he was also given the benefit of the umpire's decision for a catch to the keeper off left-arm spinner Ryan Hinds.

In the circumstances, though, it was an innings that must be complimented for its doggedness. In the morning session, Adams was seemingly suffering from the effects of a slight bout of the flu and late in the day, he continued despite a blow on the knee from Collins that floored him and held up play for ten minutes.

When he finally arrived at his 11th century at this level, he had been batting for ten minutes short of five hours and counted nine fours off 228 balls.

The result meant that Barbados were held to a draw for the first time this season and ended the preliminary round with 72 points.

Even if Jamaica were beaten, they would have still moved through to the semifinals following the Leeward Islands' inability to beat Trinidad and Tobago.

Jamaica's 36 points gave them fourth spot and set up a rematch in the second semifinal against Barbados starting February 26. Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana will contest the first semifinal at Guaracara Park beginning on Saturday.

Those who monitored the radio commentary only in the first half-hour would be shocked to hear that the match ended in a draw.

Within 15 minutes, Collins and Corey Collymore rocked the top order by removing Mario Ventura, Robert Samuels and Wavel Hinds, the three left-handers undone by sharp movement.

Ventura was unable to repeat his defiance of the first innings when he batted for 2 1/2 hours. He was deceived by Collymore's slower ball and trapped lbw moving across his stumps.

Collins struck twice in the next over when both batsmen had their stumps disturbed. Samuels was beaten between bat and pad, and three balls later, Hinds, offering no stroke, was bowled by one that came from his front pad.

With Adams highly uncertain and Powell, in only his second first-class match and still unproven at this level, Barbados were favoured for an early afternoon win.

Graham's miss followed and Powell went on to bat in enterprising style. Never afraid to play his shots, he was quick to punch anything slightly over-pitched and once lifted Winston Reid over long-off for a six that landed in front of the 3Ws Stand.

Even when lunch approached, he refused to be bogged down and the last ball before the break, delivered by Floyd Reifer, was pulled into the Kensington Stand.

Powell eventually fell to a slip catch when he pushed forward against Reid, but the aggressive Tony Powell and the responsible Nehemiah Perry helped Adams in denying Barbados.

By tea, taken at 161 for five, the result was obvious.