A lot more was promised than delivered on the opening day of the first Busta Cup cricket trial match at Queen's Park yesterday.
Four of the first five batsmen in a team captained by Roland Holder spent more than an hour-and-a-half diligently applying themselves. But none could reach 40 against an attack that featured eight bowlers.
It was left to the captain himself, batting at No. 6, to post the day's only half-century, a solid unbeaten 53 that was made in two hours' batting. By the close, his team had reached 213 for five.
On the opposite side, there was also a hint of promise from the youngest player in the match.
Ryan Best, the 16-year-old fast bowler whose appearances were limited this season because of injury, sent down two lively spells on a placid pitch.
The most memorable ball delivered during the day was his first with the second new ball, a snorter which had Holder hurrying into evasive action.
Holder's XI were given a solid start of 68 between first-time trial invitee Pedro DePeiza and Sean Armstrong, but none was able to carry on. With 15 minutes to go before the lunch break, Armstrong, on 28, flicked fast medium bowler Matthew Nicholls down the throat of square-leg.
DePeiza, his defence immaculately tight, batted the entire pre-lunch session without any bother against the four seamers. By then, he was 37, but on resumption, he played across a full-length delivery from leg-spinner Terry Rollock and was clearly lbw.
Shawn Graham, fresh from a Division 1 hundred last weekend, fell cheaply.
After Graham's departure, Kerry Lucas and teenager Kurt Wilkinson were kept quiet in a period in which four spinners shared the bowling. In that quartet, debutant Barker conceded less than a run an over, while leg-spinner Terry Rollock and left-armer Hinds went at two an over and the experienced Winston Reid one-and-a-half.
Lucas was in good touch before providing a bat/pad catch to forward short-leg off Reid.
Wilkinson got to 14 but them miscued a sweep and was caught at deep backward square-leg five minutes before tea.
For the rest of the day, Holder and wicket-keeper Glasgow added 63. It might have been slow going but both resume this morning looking for scores.
Day 2: Lucky Holder Passes A Century
Roland Holder converted his overnight half-century into a big hundred, but sub-standard catching was a major blight on Day 2 of the first Busta Cup trial match at Queen's Park yesterday.
Holder benefited from three of the six chances put down yesterday as he moved from 53 to 141 and his team extended their 213 for five to 358 for nine declared.
By the close Winston Reid's team were 70 without loss in reply.
Holder, who batted fluently for 6 1/2 hours, was let off twice in the 80s and again at 105.
In spite of those misses, Holder and young wicket-keeper Corey Glasgow were hardly troubled in a sixth-wicket partnership that was worth 159 by the time it was broken 25 minutes after lunch.
The left-handed Glasgow, known more for his wicket-keeping, played doggedly for more than four hours in making 45 off 183 balls.
He batted through the pre-lunch session, but lack of the strike after the break might have led to his dismissal.
Shaping to play through the leg-side, he was ruled lbw to off-spinner Aaron Barker.
It was the second of four wickets for the tall off-spinner, who flighted the ball encouragingly.
He then had Hendy Bryan caught by a diving Winston Reid at silly-point from a big swing that came off bat and pad.
Ryan Austin soon hit a full-toss from leg-spinner Terry Rollock back to the bowler, who accepted the catch, and Barker then claimed his most treasured wicket by removing Holder.
The experienced former Barbados captain advanced to drive, was beaten slightly in the flight and was caught by Stanton Proverbs at mid-off to end an innings that included 16 fours from 289 balls.
As usual, he was strong on the cut and drive, the latter of which was responsible for two of his chances.
Barker had to move forward a bit in an effort to haul in a chance off Reid's bowling, but Antonio Mayers should have accepted a more straight-forward chance off off-spinner Ryan Hurley.
Barker, who finished with four for 50 from 29 controlled overs, missed yet another chance offered by No. 11 Sulieman Benn just before the innings ended.
In the 29 overs Reid's team faced after tea, Jason Clarke and Raymond Griffith featured in a solid opening stand.
Left-hander Clarke, a first-time trial invitee, restrained most of his natural aggression, and was on 23. Still, he should have been caught at mid-off by Corey Collymore just before the close.
Griffith, opening the batting on a rare occasion in the absence of the three leading openers, played a few meaty boundaries in his unbeaten 28.
Fast bowler Collymore, on his first appearance in trials in two years, sent down some testing deliveries, but went over the front crease nine times in seven overs.
Day 3: Proverbs Weighs In With 88
The competition for places in the Barbados team finally intensified yesterday.
While hardly anyone nudged the selectors over the first two days of the opening trial match at Queen's Park, three players significantly enhanced their claims for Barbados' opening Busta Cup match starting on January 15.
Dave Marshall, typically lion-hearted and full of enthusiasm, captured six wickets for 76 runs in 29 overs of controlled leg-spin bowling.
In between the first two and the last four wickets, Stanton Proverbs and Ryan Hinds held the spotlight with an entertaining third-wicket stand of 150 in which both batsmen played with a fair degree of command.
Their partnership was the mainstay of Winston Reid's XI total of 334.
Proverbs, scorer of 80 and 106 in two of his last three innings at the Park, stroked 88 off only 106 balls before gifting his wicket, while the left-handed Hinds made 61 off 115 balls.
It was an impressive display from the pair, who pounced on anything loose during the 2 1/2 hours they were together.
Proverbs was equally at home against both pace and spin in an innings that included nine fours and two sixes.
The 17-year-old Hinds, who struck eight fours and a six, was especially strong off the back-foot against young spinners Sulieman Benn and Ryan Austin.
Before Proverbs and Hinds came together, Marshall had removed both openers within the first 45 minutes.
Having posted 70 the previous afternoon, Jason Clarke and Raymond Griffith would have been looking to convert their solid starts into major scores, but both were deceived by Marshall's flight. The left-handed Clarke (34) hit a catch to extra-cover and Griffith edged an attempted drive to the 'keeper.
The way Proverbs and Hinds were going after lunch suggested that centuries were there for the taking.
But Hinds, trying to cut a ball from Marshall without getting the length or line, edged to the 'keeper.
Before Hinds could fully remove his pads, Proverbs' lofted shot was neatly caught by Marshall running back from extra-cover.
Within the next half-hour, the clever Marshall had outfoxed Terry Rollock and Ryan Hurley, two players who know the finer points of spin bowling.
Rollock casually provided a return catch to his sixth ball, and Hurley, trying to hoist the leg-spinner onto the Keith and Clyde Walcott Pavilion, skied a catch which the bowler gleefully accepted.
By then, wicket-keeper Rondell Yearwood had been in for some time and he batted solidly for nearly three hours before he was last out.
Day 4: Team's Fielding Still A Worry, says Coach
National Coach William Bourne has expressed satisfaction with his batsmen and bowlers, but disappointment with the fielding as the first trial for the 1999 Busta Cup ended at Queen's Park yesterday.
On a fourth day in which at least eight chances were missed and Roland Holder's XI reached a second innings 283 against Winston Reid's XI, Bourne said there was solid work ahead for the January 15 start.
``The problem has been the fielding,'' he said. ``Too many dropped catches, sloppy ground fielding, inaccurate and untidy returns have been a cause for concern.
``It is heartening, however, that the batsmen have been able to settle down and bat long innings even though we did not have massive scores.
``It is welcoming to see the application demonstrated, and, granted the pitch was batsman-friendly, the bowlers also worked hard.''
One batsman who benefited from the fielding errors yesterday was Shawn Graham who hit a polished 74 to hold the top order together.
After an uncertain start, he stroked 13 fours during his 156-minute stay, but a mid-innings lapse could have cost him his wicket.
In the most eventful over of the day, bowled by leg-spinner Terry Rollock, he first survived a confident bat-pad appeal, then saw a thick edge disappear for four, and was again dropped at slip two balls later.
Even before this, Rollock probably knew it would not be his day when left-hander Corey Glasgow also went close at slip.
Still, he had the aid of Antonio Mayers at point who held a breathtaking catch to dismiss Kerry Lucas.
After Graham fell, bowled by Stanton Proverbs midway after lunch, Hendy Bryan, with 46 including two huge sixes, and Dave Marshall (41 off 82 balls) added 69 to extend the innings.
Bryan presented Rollock with his third wicket, well caught at long-off, and Marshall, who is now a prime candidate for selection, was the victim of a direct hit after a rare bit of sharp out-cricket.
Rollock, who was ragged at times, was the best bowler with four for 75, but would have preferred more help from his colleagues.
Second match: January 27-30.