By Tony Becca, Contributing Editor 
Barbados' batsman Floyd Reifer is bowled by Jamaica's Ryan Cunningham (not in picture) for three during yesterday's opening day of their third round Carib Beer Series match at Sabina Park. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
JAMAICA DOMINATED the opening day of the Carib Beer Series cricket match at Sabina Park yesterday with spin bowlers Ryan Cunningham and captain Gareth Breese along with wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert in the starring roles.
In one of the best exhibitions of spin bowling by Jamaica at Sabina Park in a long, long time, the pair of spinners bowled well on a responsive pitch and with a little help from part-timer Tamar Lambert, who picked up the two wickets with his offspin at the end, cut down Barbados for 198 as the home team, on nine without loss at stumps, ended the day with the balance in its favour.
Flighting the ball and dropping it on a tantalising length, particularly in the post-lunch session when Jamaica grabbed five wickets - three to Cunningham and two to Breese - for 73 runs in 35 overs as Barbados skidded from 54 for one to 127 for six, left-arm spinner Cunningham finished with figures of four for 49 off 24 overs and Breese with three for 52 off 27.
FOUR CATCHES
Right alongside them as Jamaica's best for the day was Hibbert who, carrying on from where he left off against Guyana when nothing escaped him, took four catches including a spectacular one off fast bowler Jerome Taylor - and made one stumping.
With Barbados on 26 without loss after winning the toss and electing to bat in bright sunshine, left-hander Martin Nurse went back to a delivery from Taylor that pitched outside the off stump, Hibbert started to go to his left, the ball swung back, hit the inside edge of the bat, and Hibbert changed direction, dived to his right, and came up with a brilliant one-handed catch.
After lunch, Barbados started confidently with veteran Sherwin Campbell driving medium-pacer David Bernard Jnr. to the wide long-off boundary and then to the point boundary.
Replacing Bernard, however, Cunningham sent Campbell packing when the batsman went back, attempted one of his trademark cut shots, and Hibbert made it 72 for two.
Cunningham, who dropped a straight-forward return catch off left-hander Ryan Hinds with the batsman on 37 and the score 85 for two, made it 88 for three when the left-handed Floyd Reifer shouldered arms to a delivery, bowled from over the wicket and pitched outside the off stump, that spun back from out of the rough, went between the batsman's legs and flattened the offstump.
Wicket No. 4 fell at 90 when Shawn Graham cut at Cunningham and Hibbert did the rest.
Bowling well but with nothing to show for it up to then, Breese made it 99 for five and 114 for six when captain Courtney Browne swept, edged the ball on to his pad, and Hibbert calmly stepped forward and accepted a simple catch, and when Hinds, who played a few lovely drives while scoring 57, went down the pitch and stroked a catch to Lorenzo Ingram at mid-wicket.
At that stage, Barbados were on the run but they are not quitters, however, and despite the best efforts of Cunningham and Breese, the introduction of left-arm spinner Ingram, the reintroduction of Taylor and Bernard and the return of Cunningham and Breese, they fought back bravely with Antonio Mayers, 47, and the tall, left-handed Sulieman Benn, 24, adding 52 for the seventh wicket before Breese, back again, tempted Benn to go for a big hit, and with the ball going high but not too far, Taylor walked in at long-on and made it 166 for seven.
Barbados continued to fight and Mayers and Ryan Nurse added another 25 runs before the home team, thanks to a splendid catch in the covers by Brenton Parchment to remove Nurse at 191 for eight, finally wrapped up the innings with the last three wickets falling for seven runs.
SCOREBOARD
Barbados first innings
S. Campbell c Hibbert b Cunningham 26
M. Nurse c Hibbert b Taylor 14
R. Hinds c Ingram b Breese 56
F. Reifer b Cunningham 3
S. Graham c Hibbert b Cunningham 1
C. Browne c Hibbert b Breese 1
A. Mayers c Richardson b Cunningham 47
S. Benn c Taylor b Breese 24
R. Nurse c Parchment b Lambert 11
T. Best st Hibbert b Lambert 7
P. Collins not out 0
Extras (lb5, nb3) 8
TOTAL (all out) 198
Fall: 1-26, 2-72, 3-88, 4-90, 5-99, 6-114, 7-166, 8-191, 9-193.
Bowling: Taylor 9-3-25-1 (nb2); Richardson 8-2-22-0; Bernard 11-3-29-0;
Breese 27-8-52-3; Cunningham 24-5-49-4; Ingram 2-0-10-0 (nb1); Lambert 2-0-6-2.
Jamaica first innings
B. Parchment not out 7
K. Hibbert not out 0
Extras (nb2) 2
TOTAL (without loss) 9
Bowling: Collins 3-0-9-0 (nb2); Best 2-2-0-0.
