Students humble Jamaica

NORTH SOUND, Antigua (CMC):

Steady batting from their top order trumped an electrifying 80 from Marlon Samuels to lead Combined Campuses & Colleges to a seven-wicket victory over Jamaica in the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship on Wednesday.

Most of the CCC frontline batsmen got starts without carrying on, as they successfully pursued a victory target of 139 in the rain-affected sixth match of the competition at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

Kyle Hope formalised the result with six balls remaining from their allocation of 20 overs, when he drove West Indies fast bowler Andre Russell inside-out over extra cover for his only six.

Hope made a solid 32 not out, William Perkins finished with the top score of 38, and Miles Bascombe supported with 33.

Left-arm fast-medium bowler Krishmar Santokie was the most successful Jamaica bowler with two wickets for 16 runs from four overs.

The result meant that both teams have four points from two matches, after the Jamaicans beat reigning champions Guyana in their opener, and the CCC slumped to a defeat against Windwards in theirs.

Samuels had struck five fours and five sixes from 54 balls to lift Jamaica to 138 for four from their 20 overs after they chose to bat.

Wavell Hinds, the Jamaica captain, got 21, and Dave Bernard Jr added 20 for the Jamaicans.

Romel Currency, the CCC captain, finished with two for 27 from three overs bowling his modest off-spin.

CCC then suffered an early setback, when Currency charged down the pitch, and Santokie bowled him for one, essaying a slog in the second over.

Perkins joined Bascombe, and they batted with typical enterprise to put CCC on course for victory with a stand of 49 from 34 balls for the second wicket.

Bascombe was caught at long-off off left-arm spinner Nikita Miller in the seventh over, and Hope joined Perkins to keep the CCC on track.

Perkins was then dubiously adjudged lbw to Santokie, with the CCC needing 40 from the last 40 balls of the match.

With such a simple equation, Hope and player/coach Floyd Reifer, a former West Indies captain, kept their heads, and coasted the rest of the way in an unbroken stand of 40 for the fourth wicket.

Earlier, the 30-year-old Samuels continued on the comeback trail, following a suspension from the game for ill-advised contact with an Indian bookie.

Circumspect start

He emerged from a circumspect start to reach his 50 from 44 balls, swinging compatriot Nkrumah Bonner, bowling leg-spin, for his second six over mid-wicket, two balls before Currency dropped him at deep cover off the same bowler on 59.

But it was in the closing stages that Samuels proved most effective, after Jamaica limped to 109 for three with two overs remaining.

He struck the last ball of the 19th over from Gilford Moore for his third six over long-on, and took 16 from the last three deliveries of the innings bowled by Currency.

Samuels swung a short ball over mid-wicket for his fourth six, lofted the next delivery over long-off for his final six, and swung the last ball of the innings to long-leg for his last four.

No other Jamaican batsman could match his devastation and it clearly signalled that Samuels was back.

CCC face Guyana in their third match today at this venue but Jamaica will have to wait until next Tuesday for their third match against Somerset at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

JAMAICA (maximum 20 overs)

X. Marshall c wk Walton b Moore 2D. Bernard c Reifer b Bonner 20M. Samuels not out 80W. Hinds c Wiggins b Currency 21A. Russell b Currency 8S. Findlay not out 0Extras (lb3, w4) 7TOTAL (4 wkts, 20 overs) 138

Did not bat: +C. Baugh Jr, J. Taylor, N. Miller, O. Brown, K. Santokie.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-43, 3-91, 4-121

Bowling: Moore 4-0-18-1, Kantasingh 4-0-21-0, McClean 3-0-22-0, Bonner 4-1-27-1, Wiggins 2-0-20-0, Currency 3-0-27-2

CCC (target: 139 off 20 overs)

R. Currency b Santokie 1M. Bascombe c Russell b Miller 33W. Perkins lbw b Santokie 38K. Hope not out 32F. Reifer not out 17Extras (lb7, w11) 18TOTAL (3 wkts, 19 overs) 139

Did not bat: N. Bonner, +C. Walton, R. Wiggins, K. McClean, G. Moore, K. Kantasingh.

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-54, 3-99

Bowling: Taylor 4-0-29-0, Santokie 4-0-16-2, Miller 4-0-24-1, Bernard 2-0-20-0, Russell 4-0-30-0, Brown 1-0-13-0

Result: CCC won by seven wickets

Points: CCC 4, Jamaica 0

Toss: Jamaica

Man-of-the-Match: M. Samuels (Jamaica)

Umpires: B. Doctrove, L. Kelly