Jamaica face uphill battle

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

TRAILING by 220 runs with seven wickets in hand, Jamaica face an uphill battle to gain first innings points on the fourth and final day of their West Indies Cricket Board Regional Four-day Tournament fixture against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), at Chedwin Park today.

Resuming on 253 for seven, the CCC posted a challenging 353 against the tournament leaders in a game affected by rain.

Jamaica closed the day on 133 for three.

"I think 353 is a good total in any game, especially on a wicket that has been somewhat inconsistent at times," said Jamaica's captain, Tamar Lambert. "But I am not too concerned at the moment as although we have lost three wickets, we still have a lot of batting to come and I am still confident that we can pull off first innings. We just hope the crowd will come out to support us."

The CCC entered the game on 27 points and in fourth position, while Jamaica are on 36.

Leading the way for the student cricketers was Jamaica's batting all-rounder, Nkrumah Bonner, who after resuming on four, went on to top score with 87.

In an innings that was as disciplined as it was exciting, Bonner slammed 10 fours and two sixes during his three-and-a-half-hour knock, which was welcomed by his fairly large and vocal fan club, which included members of his family.

The attacking-minded, right-handed Bonner, a student of Mico University College, first took the challenge to pacers Andrew Richardson and Jason Dawes in the first hour of the day, before taking a liking to leg-spinner Odean Brown and skipper and part-time off-spinner, Lambert, in the second session.

The 20-year-old Bonner, who narrowly missed out on selection to Jamaica's team, was involved in 30 and 73-run partnerships with Kevin McLean and Ryan Austin.

Richardson, in arguably his best match of the season, ended as the top bowler after claiming four for 49 in several penetrating spells, while Brown ended with four for 100.

Shaky home team start

The home team's reply started off fairly well with openers Simon Jackson and Danza Hyatt putting on 49 for the first wicket, before the former was caught at square leg for 25.

This brought to the crease the in-form Marlon Samuels, who entered the fray to rapturous applause, only to be undone later by a delivery from Kavesh Kantasingh, which kept low and rocketed into his stumps.

Samuels' dismissal brought a hush around the ground, and into the fray the ever-reliable Brendan Nash, who along with Lambert, ended with 14 and 12 not out, respectively, amid some spirited bowling from leg-spinner Bonner (none for 23 off five overs) and the tournament's leading wicket-taker heading into the round, off-spinner Ryan Austin (one for 12 overs).

"It was a very good day's play for us," said CCC captain Omar Phillips. We got a pretty good total, thanks to a responsible innings from Bonner, who showed application and determination and some good shots ... . The game is in a very good balance at the moment. Tomorrow, the plan is to get some early wickets."

Play is slated to resume this morning at 9:30.