by HAYDN GILL at Dover THE MALCOLM MARSHALL TROPHY remains on familiar turf. Barbados, traditional holders of the annual limited-overs series against Trinidad and Tobago Under-13s, retained the trophy named after the outstanding former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler with a second successive triumph yesterday. Their eight-wicket victory with 25 overs in reserve was even more convincing than the previous day when they coasted home by six wickets. Trinidad and Tobago, sent in again, found Barbados' accuracy and sharp fielding too much and were all out for 82, a target which the hosts quickly wiped off in 15 overs for the loss of only two wickets. Kraigg Brathwaite, who finished Saturday's no-contest with two successive fours, ended the match in even better style, lifting consecutive sixes, one of which was a straight hit onto the sightscreen and the other onto the fence at mid-wicket. Brathwaite finished unbeaten on 35 and openers Anthony Alleyne and Tevin St Hill each made 15 in another unblemished game from Barbados. "The performance was even better than yesterday [Saturday]. The pitch was a lot better and our bowlers did a lot better. They kept the ball in the right areas," said Richard Straker, one of the National Sports Council coaches working with the Barbados team. "The Trinidad batting is not as good as in previous years. I wasn't all that impressed with their batting. In the second game, you would have expected them to perform a little better. "They depend on their spin and our batsmen took it to them. They did not allow them to settle in." The cream of the Trinidad and Tobago batting offered token resistance only and the total had to be beefed up by late innings defiance after the first eight wickets fell for 57. Jerome Stuart, the tall fast bowler who undermined the visitors on Saturday with a four-wicket haul, was again in the thick of things from early. Stuart, a son of former Barbados volleyball captain John Stuart, took three of the first four wickets to prompt many into predicting that Trinidad and Tobago would fare worse than in the first match when they were bundled out for 61. Craig St Hill, the offsping of former Barbados batsman and Barbados Cricket Association board member Clinton St Hill, chipped in with three wickets, one courtesy of a splendid diving catch by Jamar Harewood. The Trinis managed to hold on longer than expected with the brief counter-attack from Keiron Joseph. Joseph made the topscore of 20, including three fours in one over, and there was some support from the dogged opener Irag Thomas, who had earlier retired hurt, along with the No. 9 Rajon Singh and the No. 10 Kissondath Magram. "The batting did not click. We lost some early wickets and we paid the penalty on a strip that was better than yesterday," said Trinidad and Tobago manager Harry Lala. "Our batsmen did not build an innings. They just went and tried to drive though the line. They were not in full control of the drive and our bowlers did not bowl steadily for our small total." The final match of the limited-over series will be played tomorrow at Wanderers, and the three-day 'test' match for the Inshan Ali Trophy starts on Thursday at Empire. haydngill@nationnews.com
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