Report

Jamaica maintain unbeaten streak; qualify for semis

A round-up of sixth-round matches of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Apr-2013
Jamaica 208 (Baugh 81, Joseph 4-53) and 257 for 8 dec (Baugh 99, Blackwood 57, Jacobs 4-61) beat Guyana 96 (Permaul 49*, Cotterrell 4-31) and 155 (Johnson 70, Miller 4-49, Brown 4-54) by 214 runs
Scorecard
Jamaica cemented their spot at the top of the table and entered the semi-finals of the Regional Four Day Competition with a 214-run win over Guyana. The win - their fifth consecutive in the tournament - gives Jamaica 60 points and they have a chance to widen that gap when they take on Combined Campuses and Colleges in the last league match on April 25.
Wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh and fast bowler Sheldon Cotterrell were the pillars of Jamaica's win over Guyana. Batting first, Jamaica had slumped to 12 for 4 after fast bowler Keon Joseph ran through the top order. They were a precarious 88 for 6 before Baugh and Nikita Miller added 89 runs for the seventh wicket, taking Jamaica towards the 200-run mark. The side was eventually all out for 208. Joseph picked up four wickets for 53 runs while Devendra Bishoo took 3 for 51.
In reply, Guyana crumbled to 96 all out. They were 10 for 5 at one stage and the pace-bowling pair of Cotterrell and Andrew Richardson dismissed as many as five batsmen for ducks. Fast bowler David Bernard then dismissed the lower order, the only resistance coming from captain Veerasammy Permaul who played a lone hand of 49.
Baugh narrowly missed out on his 13th first-class hundred, caught short of the crease on 99, as Jamaica went about extending their 112-run lead in the second innings. He shared a 138-run, sixth-wicket partnership with Blackwood before Jamaica declared their innings at 257 for 8, setting Guyana a target of 370.
The Jamaican bowlers dismissed Guyana for 155 to set up their side's fifth win of the tournament. Except for a 70 from Leon Johnson, Guyana put up another dismal batting display and finish the competition fifth on the points table, after losing four of their six matches.
Windward Islands 268 (Sebastien 93, Shillingford 42) and 23 for 1 beat Leeward Islands 129 (Powell 51, Shillingford 7-45) and 158 (Powell 51, Sebastien 5-30) by nine wickets
Scorecard
A nine-wicket win over Leeward Islands helped Windward Islands qualify for the semi-final. Put in to bat first, Leewards were a relatively safe 102 for 2 before they lost eight wickets for 27 runs. Shane Shillingford picked up six of those wickets to finish with figures of 7 for 45 off 17.5 overs. Kieran Powell was the only Leewards batsman to fire, scoring 51.
In reply, Windwards recovered from a score of 58 for 5 to post 268. Captain Liam Sebastien led the recovery with an innings of 93 and received support from Lindon James (21) and Shillingford (42). Yannick Leonard was the most successful bowler for Leewards, picking up four wickets for 63 runs.
With a lead of 139 to wipe out, the Leewards' batsmen failed for the second time. Powell's second fifty of the match was the only substantial innings, after the batsmen squandered their starts and the side were out for 158, narrowly avoiding an innings defeat. Sebastien followed up his half-century with a five-wicket haul, while Shillingford picked up three wickets to take his match haul to ten. Windwards strolled past their target of 20 for the loss of just one wicket.
Barbados 194 (Searles 56*, Khan 3-29) and 45 for 0 (Brathwaite 26*, Boucher 11*) beat Trinidad & Tobago 109 (Khan 30, Cummins 7-45) and 129 (Khan 33, Benn 5-49) by 10 wickets
Scorecard
Splendid bowling efforts from Miguel Cummins and Sulieman Benn took Barbados to victory over Trinidad & Tobago in just two days at Port of Spain. Both teams have qualified for the semi-final. Barbados with 48 points are placed third in the league, while Trinidad and Tobago are fourth.
T&T batted first, losing wickets at regular intervals. Cummins starred with the ball, taking 7 for 45, as T&T were scuttled out for 109 in 37 overs. The only real form of resistance came from batsman Imran Khan with his unbeaten 30.
Barbados in reply posted 194 before being dismissed. Contributions from Kirk Edwards (29), Shane Dowrich (24), Benn (22) and an unbeaten 56 from Javon Searles ensured they had a slim 85-run lead going into the next innings.
T&T in their second innings simply couldn't muster enough runs as Benn, Searles and Cummins combined to blast them out for just 129. Imran Khan once again top-scored with 33, while contributions from Lendl Simmons (26) and Rayad Emrit (26) were not enough to create a significant advantage. Benn ran through the order with 5 for 49, with Searles complementing him with 3 for 26.
This left just 45 runs for Barbados to chase for victory. The openers would see off the chase as Barbados won by 10 wickets. With this result they are tied on 48 points with Jamaica and Windward Islands, but Jamaica has played two less matches, while Windward has played one less. This means the points scenario could change in the next fixtures.