Barbados rally after top-order collapse vs Trinidad and Tobago U-19 men

BARBADOS' under-19 men's cricketers will start day two of their Cricket West Indies' (CWI) Rising Stars Men's under-19 Two-day Championship match against Trinidad and Tobago with a slight edge after batting themselves out of a precarious position on the first day of the tournament at the Sion Hill Playing Field, St Vincent on July 11.

Sent in to have first strike by Olando James and the TT team, Barbados found themselves in all sorts of trouble as they were reeling on 84 for seven in the 38th over after sameer Jacen Agard (four for 50) tore through the top order to put TT in the ascendancy.

The Barbados tail didn't roll over, though, and they got three substantial partnerships from their lower order before eventually declaring on 200 for nine – grabbing a bonus point in the process.

With the ball in hand, Barbados then made key inroads before the close of play to leave TT on 51 for three at stumps – giving the former team a 149-run lead heading into the second and final day.

Barbados' number nine batsman Jatario Prescod (55 not out off 80 balls) was the man who inspired the turnaround for the team, and he started his team's recovery with a 52-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Joshua Morris (43) before Aneal Rooplaul (two for 36) grabbed his second scalp to leave the opposition on 136 for eight.

Prescod then took a back seat in a 28-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Raneico Smith (21 off 24 balls), before sharing in an unbeaten 36-run partnership with Kyron King (11 not out) to push his team's score to the 200-mark.

Prescod's fine day continued when he clean bowled opener Kyle Ramdoo (15) to leave TT on 25 for one in the sixth over. The pair of Justin Jagessar (22) and Kavir Boodoosingh (11 not out) appeared to be steadying things for TT, but Barbados delivered a couple of telling blows late in the day's final session when Jagessar and Aaidan Racha (golden duck) were dismissed in quick succession.

Jagessar's 56-ball stay at the crease was ended when he was trapped lbw by highly touted leg-spinner Zishan Motara at the end of the 15th over, with Racha being sent back to the pavilion just two balls later by Barbados captain and West Indies under-19 left-arm spinner Nathan Sealy as TT lost two wickets for just three runs.

Boodoosingh and Joshua Davis are the not out batsmen for TT, and they will try to build a platform to aid their team's push for first-innings points or an outright win on day two.

Summarised Scores:

BARBADOS: 200/9 declared (Jatario Prescod 55 not out, Joshua Morris 43, Raneico Smith 21, Nathan Sealy 20; Jacen Agard 4/50, Aneal Rooplal 2/36) vs TT: 51/3 (Justin Jagessar 22, Kyle Ramdoo 15; N Sealy 1/4).