BARBADOS and West Indies Under-19 skipper Kraigg Brathwaite struck his second century at this level to steer Barbados to within one wicket of a victory against a hapless-looking Guyana at the end of the penultimate day of their fifth round West Indies Cricket Board Under-19 three-day encounter at the Everest Cricket Club ground yesterday. Resuming on 55 with his team comfortably placed on 148 for 3, Brathwaite ended on 146 not out before declaring his side’s innings closed 32 minutes after lunch, with the scoreboard reading Barbados 297 for 8 after 109 overs.
Batting  a second time with a deficit of 210 runs, Guyana who lost their last match at the same venue against Trinidad and Tobago by 73 runs, were stuttering on 73 for 7 but managed to reach 143 for 9 at the close of play, thanks to Amir Khan’s resilient 36.
Scores to date: Guyana 87 and 143 for 9, Barbados 297 for 8 declared.
Earlier in the day, Guyana who looked out-of-sorts in the field as the visitors took singles at will within the 30-yard circle, surprisingly opted to use their spinners instead of the fast bowlers for the entire first session, which saw 42 overs being sent down while Barbados scored 122 runs for the loss of four wickets.
Kyle Mayers’ 66-run fourth-wicket stand with Brathwaite was broken by Lloydel Lewis when he had Mayers caught by Linden Austin at extra cover off the final ball of the sixth over in the day’s play for 41 made off 69 balls and decorated with three fours and two sixes.
Brathwaite found another useful ally in Neil Browne 34 (5×4; 61 balls) and added another 66 for the sixth wicket, before Browne who looked set to post a huge score was caught by wicketkeeper Kevon Boodie off Gudakesh Kanhai-Motie (4-76).
Having struck Kanhai-Motie for two fours prior to Browne’s dismissal, Brathwaite brought up his century and second against Guyana, following his 112 which he scored three years ago when Barbados hosted the tournament, with a splendid straight drive off Kanhai-Motie.
He faced 270 deliveries while batting for 289 minutes and hitting seven fours to reach the landmark, which according to some Barbadian spectators at the venue,  it was the 54th career century for the 19-year-old right-handed opener.
He lost Jonathan Drakes (4), Justin Greaves (9) and wicketkeeper Mario Rampersaud (1) all to Kanhai-Motie, before he declared the innings closed having faced 335 balls. He hit 10 fours and batted for 348 minutes for his unbeaten 146.
Apart from Kanhai-Motie, only Lewis, who took 2 for 47 from 13 overs, managed to take more than one wicket for the home team who looked as if they were hoping for the visitors’ batsmen to make mistakes instead of applying the pressure.
When Guyana began their second innings, they fared better in comparison to the first innings when they catapulted for 87, reaching 23 without loss from five overs, before disaster struck and they lost five wickets for 14 runs to be 37 for 5, 10 overs later.
Boodie (8) lost his off stump to a slower delivery from Jerome Jones (2-27) who two balls later palpably trapped Kwame Crosse (0) lbw, as the left-handed batsman went back to a delivery.
Austin looked solid, especially after playing a wonderful drive through extra cover in Jones’ first over, but when he pushed forward to a delivery from Greaves, the sound of leather hitting wood greeted his ears as the Barbadians celebrated in Kadooment-style.
Chandrapaul Hemraj began the tournament with 88 against the Leeward Islands in the first round, when Guyana won by an innings and 27 runs, but faded into oblivion after that and yesterday was no different, as he lost his off stump to Mayers for 6, to leave Guyana on 32 for 4.
At tea, Guyana were 37 for 4 with Anthony Adams (9) whose inability to handle the short ball was exposed by Jones, on 4 and Dominique Rikhi 2.
Rikhi’s miserable run in the tournament continued when he was dismissed off the first ball after the break, lbw to Mayers before Ricardo Adams was joined by his namesake Anthony and they repaired the damage with their 22-run sixth-wicket partnership.
Ricardo Adams was in an aggressive mood, hitting both Mayers and Jones for boundaries before he lost Anthony Adams who pushed a low full toss from part-time left-arm spinner Shane Parris’ first ball back to the bowler. And when Chaim Holder removed Ricardo Adams, Guyana were 73 for 7 and staring defeat head on.
Skipper Ronsford Beaton made his way hastily to the wicket and fought fire with fire, by hitting Holder over wide long on for 6, followed by boundaries off Holder and Jones, before he was bowled by Parris, bringing an end to his 42-run eighth-wicket partnership with Khan.
Sensing victory, Brathwaite took the extra 30 minutes that was available to him and removed a stubborn-looking Khan who batted for 98 minutes and faced 83 balls for his 36, hitting four fours before he fended off a short delivery from Greaves to Anthony Alleyne at slip.
Having played a hero’s role with the ball in the visitors’ first innings, Kanhai-Motie and Lewis survived 10 torrid minutes against their opponents who threw everything at them, to see Guyana to 143 for 9 at the close with Kanhai-Motie on 7 and Lewis 5.
Parris, Greaves, Mayers and Jones have taken two wickets each and when play resumes today, Guyana will hope for further resistance from their last-wicket pair, as they are still 67 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat.