Richard Bryan, Freelance Writer

Jamaica's Staphanie Taylor smashes a ball through the leg side on her way to 185 not out against St. Lucia at Jamalco in Halse Hall, Clarendon, yesterday. Jamaica trounced the visitors by 281 runs. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

JAMAICA COULD force a three-way tie and possibly lead the women's Under-19 cricket championships to be decided by a calculator if they can muster victory today in their final clash of the tournament against Barbados at Elletson Road.

Barbados and Trinidad have secured two wins each. Barbados are, however, in front by the head-to-head count, having defeated Trinidad, who have completed their fixtures.

St Lucia will face the President's XI in the other scheduled game today which holds only academic interest as the latter, according to competition rules, cannot be declared champions. Jamaica, beaten by the President's XI and Trinidad in earlier matches, bounced into contention with an emphatic 281-run win over St. Lucia.

Power play

Fifteen-year-old opener Staphanie Taylor, with an aggressive 185 not out, powered the Jamaicans to 302 for two off 40 overs against St. Lucia. Winning the toss was the fillip and the all-round shut-out continued when they bowled as Shanel Daley, more known as a left-arm pacer but hampered by a leg injury, opted for spin and gained success with four wickets to shatter St. Lucia for 21 in 16.3 overs.

There were two wickets each for Rashana Outar and Abigail Hendricks as St. Lucia were subjected to another battering following earlier scores of 15 against Trinidad and 32 against Barbados while their foes also made scores over 300.

Taylor was ruthless against all bowlers, striking 21 fours and facing just 128 deliveries to chalk up the fourth century of the championship and the highest individual score.

Her partners were mere bystanders as she dominated a second-wicket partnership of 168 with Claudine Beckford (29) and third-wicket unbroken stand of 125 with Jodian Morgan (23).

Coach Cleon Smith, who has another grand chance to win a major title in his first stint as national women's coach, following a third-place finish in the regional senior competition, believes yesterday's game will propel his team to step up a notch.

"We needed a big performance and got it. We have now given ourselves a chance to win the competition. There are a few of our players who have not quite delivered but they can take heart from Staphanie," he said.