CMC – TEST wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich and veteran Jonathan Carter defied Guyana Jaguars with gutsy half-centuries but Barbados Pride still conceded a significant first-innings lead, setting up an intriguing final day of their third round match in the Regional Four-Day Championship.
Pride, resuming Sunday’s penultimate day on 33 for one, batted the entire day before being dismissed on the stroke of close of play for 360 – behind by 188 runs.
Dowrich stroked a classy 81 and Carter made 68, while Test skipper Jason Holder struck 44 and Test opener Kraigg Brathwaite, 43.
Captain Shamarh Brooks chipped in with 34, but Pride never got the big hundred they needed as Jaguars made key strikes at critical periods throughout the day.
Veteran left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul spearheaded the Jaguars attack with four for 124, including the key wickets of Carter and Test star Roston Chase (1), while left-arm seamer Raymon Reifer (2-36) and pacer Clinton Pestano (2-53) supported well.
Having lost Shayne Moseley to the final ball of the previous day, Pride consolidated early through a 73-run, second wicket stand between Brathwaite and Brooks.
Brathwaite, short of runs with the England Test series approaching, struck seven fours off 103 deliveries while Brooks faced 52 balls and also counted seven fours.
However, Permaul got the breakthrough when he removed Brooks to a catch at slip by Captain Leon Johnson and Pride slumped, losing three wickets for 17 runs.
Chase fell in identical fashion, cutting at Permaul and when Brathwaite, unbeaten on 11 at the start, was lbw to one from Pestano that kept low, the hosts were struggling on 123 for four.
Dowrich and Carter then combined in an excellent 141-run, fifth wicket stand which carried Pride to lunch on 164 for four, and gave them the upper hand in the second session.
The right-handed Dowrich, in his first match since his return from international duty, struck 11 fours and two sixes off only 113 balls in just over 2¼ hours while Carter faced 127 balls in 3¼ hours and counted nine fours, to notch his third half-century in as many matches.
However, Pride suffered a massive setback when both fell inside the last 20 minutes before tea. Dowrich pulled medium pacer Sherfane Rutherford to Permaul at mid-wicket and two overs later, Carter was bowled by one from Permaul which crept.
On 278 for six at tea, Pride were kept afloat by Holder, who put on 42 for the seventh wicket with Windies teammate, Ashley Nurse, who made 19.
Once Nurse missed a sweep at Permaul and was lbw, Pride lost their last four wickets for 45 runs, with Holder ninth out – caught at slip by Johnson off Reifer after facing 87 deliveries and striking six fours.
