GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC) – Barbados Tridents separated themselves from the bottom three and installed themselves as favourites for one of the four playoff spots when they thrashed St Lucia Zouks by 71 runs in a crucial encounter here Friday night.With the bottom three needing a victory in order to kick-start their playoff bid, Tridents produced an incisive bowling performance to easily defend their 172 for six in the fourth match of their Caribbean Premier League campaign.

Nineteen-year-old left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop, who shared the new ball on debut, claimed two for 24 while captain Jason Holder picked up two for 33, as Zouks never recovered from a poor start to be bundled out for 101 in the 15th over.

South African Hardus Viljoen top-scored 31 off 21 balls while New Zealander Colin de Grandhomme resisted briefly in a 16-ball 28, but Zouks lost wickets steadily to slip to their fourth defeat in five matches.

While they remained fifth on two points only above bottom-placed Jamaica Tallawahs on the same tally, Tridents took sole possession of fourth place on four points with their second win in four outings, ahead of the start of their five home matches at Kensington Oval starting today.

Sent in at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, Justin Greaves powered the Tridents innings with 57 off 45 deliveries on CPL debut, while left-hander Jonathan Carter stroked 30 off 21 balls and opener Johnson Charles, 28 off 19 balls.

Greaves struck half-dozen fours and a brace of sixes in an up tempo 81-run opening stand off 52 balls with Charles who counted a four and a couple of sixes.

They fell in the space of 18 balls, however, Charles holing out to long-on off left-arm pacer Obed McCoy in the ninth over and Greaves lifting off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall to de Grandhomme at deep square.

Carter then blasted four sixes in a 43-run, third-wicket stand with South African JP Duminy (18) as Tridents gathered precious runs at the back end.

Zouks, in reply, lost crucial wickets up front to crash to 15 for three in the third over before de Grandhomme and Andre Fletcher (14) combined in a 33-run, fourth-wicket stand to prop up the innings.

But Holder got Fletcher to play on in the sixth over and with four runs added, Carter pulled off a stunning, diving one-handed catch at short backward point to remove captain Darren Sammy for two in the eighth over.

de Grandhomme struck fours and a six but was run-out in the ninth over by Carter’s direct hit from point and Viljoen busied himself with three sixes at the end before he was last out.