Under-19s roll over Bajans

Set 196 for victory, the Barbadians resumed at their overnight score of 41 for one wicket but folded swiftly to be all out for 73 before lunch.

Once again, the architects of the big win were spin twins Sunil Narine, who captured six wickets for 26 runs, and Rishi Bachan with three for 25.

Bachan was awarded the "Man-of-the-Match" for his match haul of 10 wickets for 46 runs.

The Barbadians had no answer to the spin attack yesterday on a difficult wicket and heavy outfield. A measure of their struggle was the fact that they did not hit a boundary in their second innings total.

Narine, a nephew of Agriculture Minister Jarrette Narine, ended the league tournament with 31 wickets, the highest by any bowler while Bachan finished with 25.

Yesterday manager of the Trinidad and Tobago team, Roland Sampath said he was very happy with his team’s performance but did not expect the Barbadian batsmen to give up the fight so easily.

"We knew we needed an early breakthrough but was prepared for a fight to get them out. But the bowlers did the trick for us again. They were outstanding," said Sampath in a telephone interview yesterday. He revealed that before leaving Trinidad for St Vincent and the Grenadines, the two hero bowlers had set personal goals which they achieved yesterday.

"Sunil said he wanted 30 wickets and Rishi was aiming for 25 so they worked hard and have reaped their rewards," said Sampath.

The victory yesterday also brought back pleasant memories for Sampath, a former outstanding Trinidad and Tobago allrounder who managed the 2003 team to Guyana when they won an unprecedented double championship.

Yesterday Sampath said the team’s confidence is at an all-time high following their victory in the league competition and are now setting their sights on the Knock-Out phase of the TCL Challenge.

By virtue of qualifying for the final of the league competition, Trinidad and Tobago are automatically into the semi-finals of the Knock-Out and open their campaign tomorrow.

They face the winners of the match between Jamaica and the Leeward Islands which is being played today.

Sampath said he realises that it is a difficult task to emulate the feat of two years ago but is counting on the experience of the three surviving members of that record setting team — Kavesh Kantasingh, Deon Bennett and Rishi Bachan.

"Those three know what it is like to sweep the tournament so we will be counting on them to lead from the front. But it is not going to be easy," Sampath cautioned.

Other members of that team, captained by current West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin were fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, Tishan Maraj and Lendl Simmons.

Sampath said team coach Anthony Gray was working with the team to ensure that they keep their momentum and is hoping that the batsmen come up with good scores since they have been having a tough time on the testing SVG conditions.

He hinted that Trinidad and Tobago may opt for an additional batsman in the 50-overs one-day competition with Bennett and Mario Belcon likely to be considered for selection tomorrow. "We think the batsmen may have been under some pressure but with the victory under their belt will be more inclined to play freely," Sampath said.

Summarised scores: TRINIDAD/TOBAGO 113 - Jason Mohammed 55, Javed Mohammed 24, Jevon Searles 4/12, Shamarh Brooks 3/31, Nicolai Charles 2/21 and 158 - Adrian Barath 51, William Perkins 27, Shamarh Brooks 4/35, Jevon Searles 2/16, Kemar Roach 2/22 vs BARBADOS 76 -Jevon Searles 28, Rishi Bachan 7/21, Sunil Narine 2/30 and 73 - Omar Phillips 31, Orman Kellman 14, Sunil Narine 6/26, Rishi Bachan 3/25.