By Brij Parasnath

BARBADOS opener Leniko Boucher produced a solid 119 and shared four useful partnerships with Shian Brathwaite, Yvan Grant, Nicholas Kirton, Khalil Herbert and Derwin Currency as the Bajans stalled Trinidad and Tobago Under-19s efforts to push for full points in the opening-round encounter that petered out as a stalemate at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex yesterday.T&T had to settle for first-innings points after their Barbadian counterparts fought bravely to avoid outright defeat after the Barbados outfit had resumed on their second day’s overnight total of 171 for 6 and were soon dismissed for 194 in their first innings.
Trinidad and Tobago had amassed a mammoth 371 in their first innings and with a lead of 177, skipper Kirstan Kallicharan enforced the follow-up. The Barbadian had to reduce the deficit below 150 to avoid the follow-on but they were 27 runs short.
On the even-paced track, the Trinidadian bowlers lacked the potency to fight for an outright victory against a much more watchful and determined Barbadian team that decided that they will play stonewall-type cricket and preserve some points with a drawn match.
After 78 overs in their second innings, Barbados rallied to 225 for the loss of five wickets and forced the Trinidadians to accept the stalemate with no chance of bowling Barbados out and be in a position to bat for another innings to secure victory.
The Barbadians’ batting strategy helped them to clear the deficit and be in the ascendancy. And they prospered by the lack of penetration and urgency by the Trinidadian bowlers whose methods have to improve considerably before they can push for full points.
Clearly, the T&T batsmen Kallicharran (110), Cephas Cooper (59), Dejourn Charles (51) and Bryan Boodram (88) gave them a great cushion but the bowlers did not respond to the challenge in the second innings.
The Barbadians added only 23 more runs to their overnight total and lost their remaining four wickets with off-spinner Jonathan Bootan being the most successful with five wickets for 53 runs. Bryan Boodram finished with three for 43.
Facing the daunting task of clearing the 177-run deficit; Boucher emerged as the Barbados hero and compiled a sterling face-saving 119 that was studded with one six and 11 fours off 157 balls. He batted responsibly and featured in a 41-run first-wicket stand with Shian Brathwaite (15), 55 runs for the second wicket with Grant (39), 36 runs for the third wicket with Kirton (14), 41 runs for the fourth wicket with Herbert (9) and 44 for the fifth wicket with Currency (18 not out).
Boucher was fifth out at 215 (72.3 overs) after he defied the Trinidadians for 332 minutes. The diminutive opener was the steadying force and displayed the full face of the bat while making solid contact with the red cherry as he registered 157 dot balls and counted 43 singles, ten 2s, two 3s apart from the boundaries that made up his triple-figure mark.
The three-day match ended as a tame draw and the Barbadians would have gotten much energy for a dramatic fightback while the Trinidadians would have felt somewhat deflated in not securing full points.