Another sweet success for Barbados in 1997

For the first time in the history of the West Indies first-class Championship, each team played the other twice in 1997 with Barbados regaining the Red Cup title from the Leeward Islands after just one year.

Experienced, pugnacious opening batsman Philo Wallace was the captain and got the best out of his players as he enjoyed a fine season with the bat as well.

Barbados won six matches in amassing 112 points. Jamaica were second on 93, followed by Leeward Islands 80, Trinidad & Tobago 76, Guyana 44 and Windward Islands 27.

While welcoming the fact that it gave the teams much more needed cricket with matches being played on a home-and-away basis, some observers knocked the breaks in between a few matches including the highly respected Barbados team manager and former successful captain and leg-spinning all-rounder David Holford.

Barbados’ most sensational win was against the Leeward Islands by 81 runs in the return match at Warner Park in St. Kitts. It avenged an eight-wicket defeat at Kensington Oval.

Chasing 336 for victory, the Leewards were 254 for seven and seemingly set for a draw with two overs remaining in the match before leg-spinner Dave “Yamma” Marshall snatched the last three wickets in four balls in the penultimate over.

Operating from the northern end, the 24-year-old Marshall, in his first match of the season, prised out Lesroy Weekes, Hamesh Anthony and Warrington Phillip with the third, fourth and last deliveries.

Weekes, padding up to a googly, was leg before wicket for 24, Anthony got a similar ball which kept low and bowled him middle stump and the final blow was delivered at 5.21 p.m. when left-hander Phillip, swinging across a flipper, was leg before wicket.

Marshall, who took four for 70 off 20 overs after coming on as the fifth of six bowlers, led a wild celebration on the field, racing almost to the deep midwicket boundary and skating on his stomach.

Left-hander Floyd Reifer piled up 756 runs including two centuries and four half-centuries, at an average of 44.47 in ten matches. His highest score was 200 against the Windward Islands at Kensington Oval.

Wallace scored 709 (ave: 39.39) with one ton and four fifties, having played the full season as well (he and Reifer were the only batsmen with over 700 runs), while Roland Holder made 542 (ave: 41.69) including two hundreds and four half-centuries and Sherwin Campbell 382 (ave: 31.83) with one century and one fifth. Both Holder and Campbell played seven matches.

Ottis Gibson grabbed 44 wickets at 21.20 runs each to be joint top wicket-taker with Jamaica’s Franklyn Rose(15.77). Left-arm spinner Winston Reid took 40 (ave: 20.30), pacer Henderson Bryan 32 (ave: 23.25) and left-arm seamer Pedro Collins 16 (ave: 22.44).

Barbados team (with matches in brackets) – Philo Wallace (captain), Floyd Reifer, Ottis Gibson, Henderson Bryan, Winston Reid (ten), Sherwin Campbell, Roland Holder (seven), Adrian Griffith, Terry Rollock, Pedro Collins (six), Courtney Browne, Ricky Hoyte (five), Stanton Proverbs, Dave Marshall, Patterson Thompson (four), Sean Armstrong, Ryan Hurley (three).

Summarised scores of Barbados’ matches:

At Kensington Oval: January 24, 25, 26, 27. Barbados beat Guyana by 10 wickets.

Guyana 156 all out (47.4 overs) (Andre Percival 30, Keith Semple 29, Nicholas deGroot 17, Kenneth Wong 14, Mahendra Nagamootoo 14, Neil McGarrell 13, Clayton Lambert 10; Ottis Gibson 4-58, Winston Reid 3-36, Henderson Bryan 2-23) and 294 all out (103 overs) (Clayton Lambert 145, Andre Percival 91, Keith Semple 19; Ottis Gibson 3-60, Winston Reid 3-76, Pedro Collins 2-39, Henderson Bryan 2-65).

Barbados 448-8 declared (129 overs)(Floyd Reifer 151 not out, Philo Wallace 74, Terry Rollock 53, Ottis Gibson 41, Henderson Bryan 40 not out, Stanton Proverbs 14, Ricky Hoyte 13; Kelvin Darlington 3-105, Neil McGarrell 2-83, Mahendra Nagamootoo 2-93) and 4-0 (0.4 overs).

At Kensington Oval: January 31, February 1, 2, 3. Barbados beat Trinidad & Tobago by seven wickets.

Trinidad & Tobago 165 all out (63.1 overs) (Lincoln Roberts 52, Richard Smith 47, Anil Balliram 22; Terry Rollock 6-15, Ottis Gibson 2-26) and 253 all out (100.2 overs) (Mahadeo Bodoe 49, Keno Mason 49, Richard Smith 48, David Williams 29, Anil Balliram 24, Lincoln Roberts 17; Pedro Collins 3-38, Ottis Gibson 2-49, Terry Rollock 2-62).

Barbados 238 all out (148.3 overs) (Floyd Reifer 50, Ottis Gibson 49, Ricky Hoyte 31, Terry Rollock 23, Philo Wallace 19, Winston Reid 16, Ryan Hurley 13; Dinanath Ramnarine 3-39, Rajendra Dhanraj 3-59, Mervyn Dillon 2-96) and 186-3 (76.1 overs) (Stanton Proverbs 112 not out, Ricky Hoyte 39 not out, Floyd Reifer 14; Mervyn Dillon 3-43).

At Queen’s Park, Grenada. February 8,9, 10. Barbados beat Windward Islands by 51 runs.

Barbados 161 all out (55 overs) (Philo Wallace 37, Ottis Gibson 33, Sean Armstrong 20, Henderson Bryan 20 not out, Terry Rollock 17, Ryan Hurley 14; McNeil Morgan 4-32, Rawl Lewis 3-56, Roy Marshall 2-38) and 167 all out (71.2 overs) (Henderson Bryan 42 not out, Ottis Gibson 30, Sean Armstrong 21, Stanton Proverbs 11, Floyd Reifer 11, Winston Reid 11, Ryan Hurley 10; Dennison Thomas 3-22, Roy Marshall 3-36, Rawl Lewis 2-58).

Windward Islands 166 all out (64.1 overs) (Rawl Lewis 55 not out, Dennison Thomas 30, Uzzah Pope 24, Dawnley Joseph 17; Ottis Gibson 4-56, Winston Reid 3-28) and 111 all out (52 overs) (John Sylvester 37, Dennison Thomas 16 not out, Casper Davis 16; Ottis Gibson 3-37, Terry Rollock 2-8, Winston Reid 2-34).

At Kensington Oval: February 14, 15, 16. Leeward Islands beat Barbados by eight wickets.

Leeward Islands 339 all out (88.1 overs) (Stuart Williams 141, Sylvester Joseph 49, Lesroy Weekes 38 not out, Ronald Powell 23, Merlin Liburd 15, Ridley Jacobs 15, John Maynard 14, Warrington Phillip 10; Winston Reid 4-79, Ottis Gibson 3-84, Terry Rollock 2-52) and 117-2 (22.5 overs) (Stuart Williams 50 not out, Sylvester Joseph 44, Dave Joseph 14 not out).

Barbados 141 all out (42 overs)(Roland Holder 53, Winston Reid 16 not out, Henderson Bryan 15, Philo Wallace 13, Terry Rollock 10, Patterson Thompson 10; Hamesh Anthony 3-35, Ronald Powell 2-19, Lesroy Wewekes 2-23, John Maynard 2-25) and 311 all out (115 overs) (Roland Holder 111, Philo Wallace 42, Adrian Griffith 42, Henderson Bryan 24 not out, Floyd Reifer 21, Sherwin Campbell 16, Patterson Thompson 15, Ottis Gibson 12; Warrington Phillip 6-78, Ronald Powell 2-77).

At Kaiser Oval, Discovery Bay: February 21 22, 23, 24. Barbados beat Jamaica by 121 runs.

Barbados 184 all out (69 overs) (Roland Holder 58, Floyd Reifer 50, Philo Wallace 34, Sherwin Campbell 17, Courtney Browne 16; Denville McKenzie 4-35, Brian Murphy 2-35) and 223 all out (77.3 overs) (Roland Holder 54, Ottis Gibson 36, Sherwin Campbell 34, Floyd Reifer 28, Philo Wallace 22, Courtey Browne 22; Franklyn Rose 5-62, Brian Murphy 2-20, Laurie Williams 2-57).

Jamaica 180 all out (57.5 overs) (Brian Murphy 26 not out, Leon Garrick 23, Robert Samuels 20, Shane Ford 16, Jimmy Adams 15, Nehemiah Perry 14, Delroy Morgan 12; Henderson Bryan 4-42, Patterson Thompson 3-27, Winston Reid 2-42) and 106 all out (39.4 overs) (Brian Murphy 34, Delroy Morgan 22, Jimmy Adams 14; Henderson Bryan 3-16, Patterson Thompson 3-33, Ottis Gibson 2-14, Winston Reid 2-26).

At Bourda: February 27, 28, March 1, 2. Match drawn.

Barbados 240 all out (90.3 overs) (Courtney Browne 78, Philo Wallace 62, Adrian Griffith 36, Floyd Reifer 19; Carl Hooper 5-52, Colin Stuart 2-29, Mahendra Nagamootoo 2-91) and 211-5 declared (60 overs) (Philo Wallace 69, Sherwin Campbell 58, Ottis Gibson 18, Winston Reid 13 not out, Roland Holder 11, Courtney Browne 11; Neil McGarrell 4-69).

Guyana 164 all out (55 overs) (Clayton Lambert 34, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 30, Neil McGarrell 18, Andre Percival 14, Ramnaresh Sarwan 14; Ottis Gibson 5-57, Winston Reid 2-19 Henderson Bryan 2-29) and 263-7 (68 overs) (Carl Hooper 101, Nicholas deGroot 47, Clayton Lambert 45, Neil McGarrell 18 not out, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 14; Ottis Gibson 3-80, Winston Reid 2-47).

At Warner Park, St. Kitts: April 10, 11, 12, 13: Barbados beat Leeward Islands by 81 runs.

Barbados 275 all out (106.1 overs) (Roland Holder 107, Floyd Reifer 61, Adrian Griffith 21, Winston Reid 20, Philo Wallace 16, Henderson Bryan 11; Carl Tuckett 3-57, Hamesh Anthony 2-49, Ronald Powell 2-51, Warrington Phillip 2-68) and 212-7 declared (84 overs) (Roland Holder 57, Sherwin Campbell 46, Philo Wallace 37, Winston Reid 37 not out, Henderson Bryan 14 not out, Ottis Gibson 13; Warrington Phillip 3-76, Keith Arthurton 2-38).

Leeward Islands 152 all out (81 overs) (Stuart Williams 31, Junior Mitchum 19, Ridley Jacobs 19, Carl Tuckett 18, Ronald Powell 17, Hamesh Anthony 12 not out; Henderson Bryan 5-39, Dave Marshall 3-29) and 254 all out (81 overs) (Stuart Williams 118, Dave Joseph 34, Lesroy Weekes 24, Carl Tuckett 20 not out, Junie Mitchum 18, Ronald Powell 17; Dave Marshall 4-70, Winston Reid 3-61).

At Queen’s Park Oval: May 9, 10, 11, 12. Match drawn.

Barbados 394 all out (111.1 overs) (Sherwin Campbell 109, Adrian Griffith 60, Floyd Reifer 48, Winston Reid 31, Philo Wallace 24, Ricky Hoyte 17, Henderson Bryan 13, Roland Holder 10; Mervyn Dillon 4-94, Dinanath Ramnarine 2-42, Nigel Francis 2-84) and 288 all out (98 overs) (Winston Reid 54 not out, Dave Marshall 42, Sherwin Campbell 41, Roland Holder 35,Philo Wallace 31, Floyd Reifer 29, Ricky Hoyte 12, Henderson Bryan 11; Ian Bishop 4-51, Dinanath Ramnarine 2-47, Nigel Francis 2-48).

Trinidad & Tobago 361 all out (93.4 overs) (Suruj Ragoonath 128, Ian Bishop 111, Richard Smith 22, Brian Lara 17, Dinanath Ramnarine 10; Winston Reid 4-72, Henderson Bryan 3-75) and 99-1 (17 overs) (Suruj Ragoonath 73, Daren Ganga 16 not out).

At Kensington Oval: May 16, 17. Barbados beat Windward Islands by an innings and 191 runs.

Windward Islands 82 all out (32.2 overs) (Balty Watt 17, Roy Marshall 15, Uzzah Pope 12; Pedro Collins 4-36, Ottis Gibson 3-16, Henderson Bryan 2-8) and 161 all out (42.5 overs) (Junior Murray 48, Roy Marshall 29, Balty Watt 22, Denis Byam 15, Casper Davis 11 not out, McNeil Morgan 10; Winston Reid 3-52, Ottis Gibson 2-30, Henderson Bryan 2-30).

Barbados 434-9 declared (102 overs) (Floyd Reifer 200, Philo Wallace 121, Ricky Hoyte 50 not out, Dave Marshall 12; Rawl Lewis 5-160, Roy Marshall 2-68, Casper Davis 2-92).

At Kensington Oval: May 23, 24, 25, 26. Jamaica beat Barbados by eight wickets.

Barbados 258 all out (80 overs) (Floyd Reifer 59, Philo Wallace 47, Sherwin Campbell 27, Roland Holder 26, Stanton Proverbs 22, Henderson Bryan 19, Winston Reid 16; Franklyn Rose 3-63, Jimmy Adams 2-40, Courtney Walsh 2-48) and 180 all out (63 overs) (Philo Wallace 53, Ottis Gibson 19, Sherwin Campbell 17, Henderson Bryan 14, Dave Marshall 10 not out; Courtney Walsh 6-39, Laurie Williams 2-30).

Jamaica 282 all out (82.3 overs) (Wavell Hinds 84, Delroy Morgan 54, Shane Ford 36 not out, Robert Samuels 28, Jimmy Adams 28, Laurie Williams 20, Franklyn Rose 14; Ottis Gibson 4-57, Pedro Collins 3-40, Winston Reid 2-73) and 157-2 (35.5 overs) (Robert Samuels 90 not out, Jimmy Adams 50 not out).

Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org).
Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com