DESPITE A COUPLE of scares and some sloppy fielding, Kingston yesterday advanced to the final of the Capital and Merchant Bank limited overs competition with a five-wicket victory over the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) at Sabina Park.
The Tigers will now play St. Catherine CC for the crown tomorrow at the same venue after the latter advanced against Westmoreland at Allan Rae Oval through most outright wins after their match was abandoned due to rain.
AT SABINA PARK: Without openly saying it, the Kingston players and coterie saw the win over the Soldiers as a modicum of revenge for their missing out on the Senior Cup crown due to a controversial match at the Soldiers' base, Up Park Camp, in which the pitch was unfit for play but the match went ahead, the JDF won and clinched the title.
"We just failed to win the Senior Cup, but we don't want go back into that," Kingston skipper Lloyd Black said after the match.
"We have been playing good cricket all season and this is just reward," he said.
Kingston won the toss and put the JDF in on what appeared to be a good pitch, however only opener Mel Wint, who made 24 after being dropped first ball, Mark Gray, 28, and Howard Copeland, 30, and Paul Brown, 16 not out, who put on a frustrating last-wicket stand of 29, spent substantial time at the crease as the visitors fell for 182 in the final over. It was a total that should never have been reached as about five chances were put down.
Audley Sanson, a somewhat surprise inclusion in the Kingston XI, claimed 3-25 off 10 overs, Dwight Mais 2-29 off six and Andrew Richardson 1-30 off eight although after six overs he boasted figures 1-9.
Kingston began their chase briskly with Shane Brooks and Nicholas Austin pushing the total past 50 before Brooks was run out by a direct hit for 31 with the score at 53. First drop Ricardo Powell (20) fell in usual cavalier style at deep mid-on at 85 but Tigers' fans' hearts really began to flutter when Austin (42) was caught and bowled by Brown at 105 and Raymond Ferguson (two) went the same way to Omar Ellington five runs later to leave the score at 110-4.
However, the experience of Matthew Sinclair (31 not out) and Nehemiah Perry (27) pushed the team to within striking range of the total and Black (15 not out) finished off the job with Sinclair after Perry fell with the score at 154.
Brown was the pick of the Soldiers' bowlers with 2-24 off 10.
AT ALLAN RAE OVAL: Home team Westmoreland, sent to take first strike, were bowled out for 193 off 48.4 overs. Clive Thompson made 46, Cleveland Davidson, 36, and Raul Wynter, 31 against Ephraim McLeod (3-31), Tamar Lambert (2-34) and Phillip Wright (2-35).
St. Catherine were 50 without loss when the rain came. Renford Pinnock Jr. (21) and Dean Morgan (16) were the not out batsmen.
