GEORGETOWN – Left-hander Ryan Hinds was leading a Barbados Pride rescue mission after their batting collapsed twice on the penultimate day, to hand Guyana Jaguars the advantage in their WICB Professional Cricket League match yesterday.
Barbados were first bundled out for a paltry 101 with left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul picking up his second straight eight-wicket haul, with eight for 26.
Following on by 160 runs, Barbados Pride were once again in strife at 76 for five and plunging towards defeat before Hinds arrived to hit an unbeaten 60 and guide the visitors to 214 for seven at the close at the National Stadium at Providence.
He was helped by exactly 50 from wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich but yet again the Guyana spinners wreaked havoc, with leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo claiming four for 65 and Permaul, two for 65.
The half-century knock was Hinds’ 35th at first class level, and comes following a two-year absence.
Heading into the final day of the third round encounter on Monday, Barbados lead by a mere 54 runs, still very much in danger of defeat.
Resuming the day on 33 for two, Barbados capitulated meekly to lose their last eight wickets for 68 runs, to be bowled out nearly three-quarters of an hour before lunch.
Dasher Dwayne Smith top-scored with a brazen 32 off 25 balls with four fours and a six but no other Barbados batsman made it past 20.
Barbados suffered their first blow early in the morning when Shai Hope was taken behind off Permaul, after adding two to his overnight eight, with the score on 36 for three.
The visitors then flourished briefly as Smith counter-attacked in a 35-run, fourth wicket stand with left-hander Jonathan Carter who made 16.
Smith struck two successive fours off seamer Chris Barnwell before clearing long-on with Permaul. He was accelerating the Barbados scoring when he was adjudged lbw to Barnwell.
His dismissal triggered a terminal decline, with Barbados losing six wickets in quick time for 30 runs.
Embarrassingly, four wickets – Hinds (7), Dowrich (3), Ashley Nurse (0) and Jomel Warrican (0) – all fell with the score on 95, as Permaul wrecked the lower order. Three of these wickets fell to Permaul in his 15th over.
Following on, Barbados reached the safety of lunch on 28 without loss, with Kyle Corbin on 16 and Omar Phillips, 11, but suffered another slump on resumption.
In the second over after the break, Phillips was lbw to Barnwell without adding, with the score on 30 and though Corbin and Shai Hope added 28 for the second wicket, a collapse was still on the cards.
The right-handed Corbin made 35 off 53 balls in nearly 1-1/2 hours at the crease and hit four fours and a six before perishing to a catch at short-leg by Shimron Hetmyer off Permaul.
In quick time, Barbados were on the ropes, losing four wickets for 18 runs in the space of 31 balls, forcing Hinds and Dowrich into a recovery effort.
They put on 95 for the sixth wicket, with Hinds facing 126 balls in 3-1/2 hours and counting three fours and a six, and Dowrich stroking seven boundaries off 120 balls in 2-1/2 hours.
Guyana hit back late, though, when Bishoo had Dowrich caught at point by Rajendra Chandrika and Premaul prised out captain Carlos Brathwaite, lbw for 14, after he added 25 for the seventh wicket with Hinds.
