Tony Becca
THE CARIB Beer Cricket Series is on the way, Jamaica are in the lead, and like stand-in captain Tamar Lambert, the people involved with the preparation of the team and the selection of the team must be and should be happy.
Short of seven of its top
players due to West Indies duty and injury, Jamaica rose to the occasion, knocked off a full-strength Leeward Islands by 176 runs, and with rain unfortunately destroying the other
two first-round matches, are out in front with maximum 12 points.
JA'S SURPRISE
After winning the toss and electing to bat surprisingly so to some of their fans Jamaica fell for 188, dismissed the Leeward Islands for 150, chalked up 270 and then nailed the visitors for 132.
The match will be remembered from a Jamaican point of view for the wonderful
performances by batsmen Donovan Pagon, Lambert and David Bernard Jnr., and by fast bowlers Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor and left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.
On a pitch that was difficult for batting, Pagon, going to bat at five for one and at 25 for one, batted responsibly while scoring 44 and 55. So too did Lambert, who scored 38 and 70 after joining the action at 33 for three and 38 for four; and also Bernard, who supported Pagon and Lambert in both innings with scores of 26 and 75.
With Shawn Findlay, Maurice Kepple, Lorenzo Ingram and Carlton Baugh Jnr. failing to deliver; with Pagon and Lambert sharing a long partnership in the first innings; with Pagon and Lambert and then Lambert and Bernard standing firm in the
second innings; they were the batsmen, the three who rescued Jamaica in both innings.
In doing so, they underlined the importance of good technique and patience, especially on an unpredictable pitch, and they deserve a round of applause.
GOOD BOWLING
With Pagon, Lambert and Bernard coming up with the runs, Powell with one wicket in the first innings and two in the second, Taylor with five and three, and Miller with four in the first innings, they bowled well, and despite the generous pitch, they too, like Pagon, Lambert and Bernard with the bat, deserve a round of applause for their performance with the ball.
Taylor was his usual accurate self and Miller, particularly in his long spell from the north after lunch on day two when he found a good rhythm and never lost it, must have been pleased with his debut effort for Jamaica.
Although he ended up with less wickets than both Taylor and Miller, Powell was the pick of the bowlers, particularly so after lunch on the second day when he was not rewarded with even one wicket, and right throughout the second innings.
He was fast, as usual, he was accurate in both line and length, he was aggressive, and he certainly contributed to Taylor's success at the other end.
Jamaica's victory and the performance of six Jamaicans apart, however, there were two big disappointments in the match. One was the pitch and one was the bowling of Omari Banks.
With the ball sometimes jumping off a good length and sometimes shooting along the ground from as early as the second over, the pitch was an embarrassment so much so that Jamaica's 188 on the first day was a good effort, and with Powell and Taylor leading the Jamaica attack the Leeward Islands never had a chance on the final day.
ORDINARY BANKS
What was surprising, therefore, was that on a pitch like that, on a pitch that newcomer
Miller bowled so well, Banks, a
West Indies bowler, looked so
ordinary.
Times have changed, no doubt about that, and so have tactics in cricket. Someone, however, will have to explain, for example, why Banks, on a pitch on which he was getting the ball to turn so much, a pitch on which the bounce of the ball was so unpredictable, opted to bowl around the wicket to the right-handers on the third day and ended up bowling to his leg slip instead of the stumps.
Not so long ago offspin bowlers, on a pitch like that, would have put in place a slip, a short-leg, and a backward short-leg or leg slip, mid-on, mid-wicket and a square-leg.
They would have bowled over the wicket, they would have bowled on or about the offstump, they would have tempted batsmen to drive through the offside, and apart from going through the gate and hitting the stumps (probably off the inside edge), apart from waiting for return catches, they would have looked for catches close to bat on the onside, at mid-on, mid-wicket and at square-leg. And when they got one to straighten, the slip would have been there waiting.
