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Day 3: Jamaica well set for semis

Jamaica ticked off their second victory in the regional Busta Cup cricket tournament when they defeated the Windward Islands by eight wickets 45 minutes before lunch on the third day at Alpart yesterday.

Set a victory target of 39, Jamaica lost opening batsman Leon Garrick in the first over for zero at zero for one and number three Wavell Hinds in the fourth for six at 15 for two before easing to victory with left-handers Mario Ventura and captain James Adams on 12 and nine respectively.

Score: Windward Islands 164 and 55, Jamaica 181 and 42 for the loss of two wickets. In winning the match with over a day to spare, Jamaica, who defeated the Leeward Islands in their opening match and then lost to Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, are now on 32 points from four games, and with one to go - against Barbados at Kensington Oval - are well placed to finish in the top four for a place in the semi-finals.

Resuming on 52 for eight after a poor batting performance on the previous afternoon, the Windward Islands lost their remaining two wickets for three runs in three overs with offspinner Nehemiah Perry, two for two in two overs, picking up both to finish with figures of three for 21 off 13 overs.

Without addition to the overnight score, Cameron Cuffy was caught on the long-on boundary by Laurie Williams in the first over, and last man McNeil Morgan was bowled middle-stump playing across the line.

When the Windward Islands took to the field, there was not a man on the ground - not even among their reserves, not even among those who remembered that Jamaica routed Guyana for 41 at Sabina Park in 1986 for what remains the lowest total in the regional tournament - who believed they had a chance to win the match.

Cuffy and Morgan, however, worked up a hostile pace on the unpredictable pitch, and although it was an impossible mission, gave Jamaica a bit of a scare at the start of the innings.

With the fourth delivery of the opening over, Cuffy sent Garrick packing when the batsman, going forward to a delivery which kicked off a good length, was caught by Joseph Parillon at leg gully, and after a wayward over from Casper Davis, a hook for four by Hinds, Morgan ripped out the left-hander's offstump at 15 for two.

Day 4: Cheers for Ricardo Powell and pacer Mais

Jamaica moved into third place in the qualifying section of the regional Busta Cup cricket tournament following their emphatic eight-wicket victory over the Windward Islands at Alpart on Friday, and after the scare when they lost to both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, have clinched a place in the semi-finals.

With only this weekend's final round remaining, Jamaica are on 32 points and even if they fail to get the minimum four points from Barbados, two teams will finish behind them.

In the final round, Guyana, on 21, will be against the Windward Islands, on 20, in a match in which one will knock out the other, and although the Leeward Islands, on 16, could finish tied with Jamaica on 32 if they defeat Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica fail to get points from Barbados, they would not make it because they lost to Jamaica.

In defeating the Windward Islands before lunch on the third day, Jamaica, who knocked off the visitors for 55 in their second innings, should be pleased with their performance - especially that of the middle and lower order batsmen and the fielders.

On a pitch which was uncomfortable for batting because of the unpredictable bounce, Ricardo Powell, Tony Powell, Nehemiah Perry, and Laurie Williams batted well to hand Jamaica the lead, and although Wavell Hinds and Perry dropped a catch each in the first innings, Jamaica, led by Tony Powell with four fine catches in the slips and Williams with one lovely one at mid-off, were brilliant in the field in the second innings.

The state of the pitch was such that after squeezing out a slim first innings lead Jamaica did not want to be left too many runs to get batting last against Cameron Cuffy, Casper Davis and company, and with pacers Dwight Mais and Williams, spinners Perry and Brian Murphy cornering the Windward Islands batsmen, the fielders backed them up superbly.

The two players who deserve high praise, however, were batsman Ricardo Powell and Mais.

Powell, who was dismissed for 23, did not score heavily, but after joining the action with his team in trouble at 34 for four minutes into the second day, batted with a maturity which augurs well for Jamaica's cricket.

The youngster not only batted for over an hour and half on a difficult pitch against some good bowlers, but before he was undone by a nasty lifter, he also never missed an opportunity to attack.

His three boundaries off the pacers - a drive through extra-cover off Cuffy to get off the mark, an ondrive wide of mid-on off McNeil Morgan, and a drive over extra-cover off Davis - were impressive.

There will be times when, because of the conditions, the quality of the bowling, and the state of the match, he will have to defend. Hopefully, however, he will remain a positive batsman.

Mais has been fortunate with the kind of pitches he has been bowling on, and his first real test in his debut season will come this weekend on a good pitch at Kensington Oval and against a batsman like Sherwin Campbell.

There is no question, however, that he is a bowler with the skill to go on and one who deserves special attention as far as his development is concerned.

Apart from his lively pace, and good control, Mais seems to be a competitor. In the first innings at Alpart, on a slow pitch, Mais had figures of 15 overs, nine maidens, 13 runs, and two wickets including an opening spell of 8-7-1-1; and in the second innings, with the ball bouncing awkwardly, his length, if not so much his line, was almost perfect.

He not only finished with two for 13 off eight overs, but such was the ferocity of his attack, the number of times he beat the bat and nicked the edge, that he could have finished with a handful of wickets.

Apart from the continued failure of Jamaica's batsmen to move their feet properly, the pitch, and the use of Matthew Sinclair as a night watchman, the disappointment, for the spectators, was that the game finished so early.

The attendance on Saturday was good, and there is every reason to believe that if the match was not destined to finish before lunch on the following day, there would have been a bumper crowd on Sunday.