BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Speedster Miguel Cummins crippled Trinidad and Tobago with his third five-wicket haul of the season before opener Kraigg Brathwaite helped put the hosts in a commanding position, on the opening day of the Regional Four-Day final yesterday.

Sent in to bat on a grassy Kensington Oval strip, Trinidad and Tobago crashed to 19 for five inside the first hour before tumbling to a hugely disappointing 110 all out, with a fired up Cummins finishing with five for 30.

All-rounder Rayad Emrit made a fighting top score of 34 and Stephen Katwaroo got 24, but the Trinidadian batting had no answer to Barbados’ attack.

Test pacer Kemar Roach picked up two for 35 while experienced left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn finished with two for 13.

Brathwaite, his side’s leading run-scorer this season, then fashioned a typically obdurate unbeaten 49 to steer Barbados to 144 for two at the close, a lead of 34 runs heading into Friday’s second day.

The right-hander put on 62 for the first wicket with Rashidi Boucher who unfurled a breezy 46 from 51 balls, and then added a further 79 for the second wicket with captain Kirk Edwards who made 48.

Brathwaite’s 45th run saw him to 500 runs for the season.

Full of confidence after their morale-boosting win over five-time defending champions Jamaica in last week’s semi-final, T&T were never allowed to settle on a pacy Oval wicket.

In just the fourth over of the day, Adrian Barath fended a short delivery from Cummins to Brathwaite at fourth slip to fall for one with the score on eight and two balls later with no addition, Yannic Cariah edged behind to Shane Dowrich.

Things grew worse for T&T when Lendl Simmons pushed tentatively at the first ball of the next over from Roach and was taken behind, and T&T were in tatters when Jason Mohammed failed to negotiate a short ball from Cummins and parried a catch to Ashley Nurse at second slip to depart without scoring.

Captain Denesh Ramdin, short on runs with just 70 from his last six innings, extended his nightmare form, edging a short ball to Jonathan Carter at third slip off Cummins after spending 20 minutes over three runs.

Katwaroo, in his fourth first class match, and Akeal Hosein in only his second, stemmed the flow of wickets by putting on 32 for the sixth wicket.

The 20-year-old right-handed Katwaroo faced 46 balls in 75 minutes at the crease and struck three fours while Hosein, dropped on 14 by Dowrich off seamer Javon Searles at 42 for five, made 17 off 49 balls in 77 minutes.