- Junior DowieJamaica's all rounder Laurie Williams pulls for four during his knock of 40 during yesterday's first day of their four-day Busta Cup match against Leeward Island at Kaiser, Discover Bay. At stumps Jamaica were 209 for seven wickets.
Tony Becca, Senior Sport Editor
THE BUSTA Series cricket match between Jamaica and the Leeward Islands got under way at Kaiser, Discovery Bay, yesterday, and based on the action so far, the top of the table clash between the joint leaders could be a thriller. It may not even go the scheduled distance of four days.
At stumps on a day during which the ball dominated the ball, a day when the stars were Mario Ventura, Laurie Williams and Darren Powell - not with centuries but with scores of 39 not out, 40, and 25 not out, the scoreboard read, Jamaica 209 for seven, and if the pitch that was so good to the bowlers continues to be so kind to them, if the bowlers bowl as well today and tomorrow as they did yesterday, the match may not last beyond the fourth morning - probably not even so long.
Looking at the number of deliveries that jumped off the pitch yesterday afternoon, and although they were not so many, those that kept low, the bounce of the ball could become so unreliable, so awkward later on that it could be a nightmare for the batsmen.
Yesterday morning the pitch was damp with preparation moisture, and after Stuart Williams, the captain of the Leeward Islands, had won the toss, thanked his lucky stars, and sent Jamaica to bat, pacers Goldwyn Prince, Adam Sanford and Kerry Jeremy, who preened himself with three wickets for 34 runs off 17 overs, bowled well on it.
In a lovely demonstration of control, they pitched the ball up and on the stumps, the slow, awkward bounce made life difficult for the batsmen, and but for a solid, resolute Ventura and a daring, dashing Laurie Williams who shared a wonderful seventh-wicket partnership of 73 in 125 minutes off 200 deliveries, the Jamaica innings, in shambles at 85 for six in the 44th over, would certainly have been over long before stumps - probably even before tea.
Joining the action at 55 for four 14 minutes after lunch, the left-handed Ventura, with scores of 12, 55 not out, 76 not out and 32 in the earlier matches, stepped into breach and has so far stood guard for 234 minutes while facing 187 testing deliveries.
In his determined, courageous effort, the little man has so far scored only three boundaries on a slow outfield. Two of them, however, two front-foot drives through extra-cover, one off policeman Sanford and one off Jeremy, were strokes out of the top drawer.
In contrast to Ventura's generally quiet, defensive stand, Williams, who entered the fray at 85 for six and departed at 158 for seven when he drove loosely at Jeremy and edged a catch to Sylvester at first slip, went at the Leeward Islands bowlers from the moment he took his guard and hooked the second delivery from Sanford confidently to the square-leg boundary.
That was a glorious shot. So too, however, were three others - an ondrive high to the mid-wicket boundary off Sanford, a hook to the long -leg boundary off Jeremy, and an ondrive high to the mid-wicket boundary off Prince.
Apart from losing the toss when Stuart Williams called right, Jamaica's problems started in the first over when the arrogant Leon Garrick, after attempting to drive twice into the covers and not timing the ball properly, drove the third delivery back to Prince.
It gradually got worse when David Bernard Jnr., after pulling Sanford sweetly to the mid-wicket boundary, was bowled at 22 for two, when Keith Hibbert went back and lobbed an attempted pull to square-leg at 41 for three, and when Ricardo Powell, after promising a lot with a few well-timed strokes, aimed a big hit at offspinner Omari Banks and was bowled neck and crop 12 minutes before lunch at 55 for four.
SCOREBOARD
Jamaica first innings
| R | M | B | 4 | 6 |
| L. Garrick c and b Prince | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Bernard b Jeremy | 5 | 70 | 43 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Hibbert c Tittle b Jeremy | 6 100 | 61 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Powell b Banks 17 | 64 | 39 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Samuels b Sanford 19 | 64 | 56 | 2 | 0 |
| M. Ventura not out 39 234 187 | 3 |
| 0 |
| G. Breese c S. Williams b Sanford | 2 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Williams c S. Joseph b Jeremy 40 125 | 88 | 4 | 0 |
| D. Powell not out 25 | 56 | 44 | 2 |
| 1 |
Extras: (b9, lb17, w 17, nb 3) 46
Total: (370 minutes, 90 overs for seven wkts) 209
Fall: 0 (1), 22 (2), 41 (3), 55 (4), 73 (5), 85 (7), 158 (8)
Bowling: G. Prince 22/11/35/1 (9/6/7/1, 6/3/15/0, 5/1/10/0, 2/1/3/0)
A. Sanford 20/3/72/2 w16 (5/1/13/0 w4, 3/1/4/0, 5/1/22/0, 4/0/12/0 w2, 3/0/21/0 w10)
K. Jeremy 17/3/34/3 w1 (8/1/16/2, 4/1/11/0, 5/1/7/1 w1)
O. Banks 26/10/31/1 nb3 (15/7/13/1, 9/3/10/0 nb1, 2/0/8/0 nb1)
A. Adams 2/00/5/0
I. Tittle 3/1/6/0
