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Catherine - Ian Bradshaw once more emphasised his immense all-round qualities with a terrific effort that was a big difference between victory and defeat in Barbados’ second round Red Stripe Bowl match against Trinidad and Tobago here yesterday.

The men in blue and gold easily won the match by 67 runs, but the result could have been so different had the 25-year-old Bradshaw not made his presence felt towards the tail-end of the Barbados innings and the start of Trinidad and Tobago’s.

Within minutes of walking onto Chedwin Park, he was faced with the task of making something out of an embarrassing Barbados struggle against a four-man spin attack that had reduced them to 140 for seven at the end of the 41st of the 50 allotted overs.

In the few overs remaining, Bradshaw and debutant Callitos Lopez ensured Barbados would have at least a fighting total to defend by smacking 45 runs from 40 balls before both fell in the penultimate over.

Bradshaw’s contribution was a run-a-ball 26 that included pulled sixes over mid-wicket in one over from off-spinner Imran Jan, but he made a more telling contribution when Barbados gallantly defended their seemingly modest total of 185.

It was made to look even less when no-nonsense left-handed opener Andy Jackson pulled his first ball from Corey Collymore over mid-wicket for six and showed him more disdain by lifting him over his head for a similar result.

It required a variation in pace from Bradshaw to deceive Jackson and the left-armer struck two more blows by having Leon Romero expertly caught by Dave Marshall running back from mid-on, and uprooting the off stump of Lincoln Roberts for a duck.

By then the conditions had changed dramatically. It was very overcast and there were thunder rolls accompanied by lightening.

Yet, there was not a drop of rain and leg-spinner Marshall, off- spinner Ryan Hurley and medium-pace Lopez made sure Trinidad and Tobago never managed more than 118 off 43 overs.

Captain Richard Smith and Jan added 49 for the fourth wicket, but it took almost 20 overs.

Earlier, Barbados never fully came to grips with the challenge of Trinidad and Tobago’s four spinners after they chose to bat first under sunny skies.

Philo Wallace sliced the day’s first ball over third-man for six and 24 runs had come from the first two overs in which Wallace also lost his wicket.

For the second successive day, the big-hitting opener was out to a disappointing stroke and this time he drove over a full-length delivery from the tall medium-pacer Darryl Brown.

Brown also claimed captain Sherwin Campbell and after that it became quite pedestrian for Barbados in spite of the presence of the in-form Floyd Reifer.

The spin quartet of Rodney Sooklal, Dinanath Ramnarine, Ken Hazel and Jan kept it so tight that captain Richard Smith never again turned to the faster stuff after the first 14 overs.

Reifer again played impressively for 49 off 70 balls, but his fellow left-handers Adrian Griffith and Ryan Hinds in particular, could not dominate the bowling.

In Hinds’ case, he never even tried and his 18 boring runs were stretched over 91 balls in a fourth-wicket partnership of 77 with Reifer.

By then, Barbados were only 133 for four in the 38th over when the stand was broken with one of the many brilliant pieces of work in the field by Trinidad and Tobago.

Almost everyone at the ground thought Reifer would have raised his half-century off off-spinner Rodney Sookal with a six over long-on, but Brown leapt high off the ground to haul in a stupendous catch.

Courtney Browne came out and casually hit the very next ball down the throat off Brown at long-off.

Hinds and Ryan Hurley followed in a worrying period for Barbados when four wickets went down for seven runs and they required the lusty hitting of Bradshaw and Lopez to raise a respectable total.

They put on 40 in 45 balls and Bradshaw twice pulled Jan’s off-spin over the mid-wicket fence for sixes.

Both went in successive balls to the teenager Sookal, who finished with four for 35 in his first appearance at this level.

© The Barbados Nation