BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (CMC):

With Hurricane Dean hurtling towards Jamaica, the country's Under-19 side managed to put the pending danger out of their minds just long enough to crush Guyana and lift the TCL West Indies Challenge one-day title on Saturday.

"We tried to focus on the things we could control. We played the cricket with a plan and hoped for the best with the weather," Jamaica's coach Andre Coley told CMC Sports.

"Now that the game is over, I know everyone's mind is in Jamaica and thinking of those back home. The players have been in regular contact with their relatives in Jamaica and I hope that the people are prepared and that whatever damage is done is just material and no lives are lost."

Jamaica were propelled by a devastating century from 17-year-old right-handed opener Horace Miller, as they successfully chased down Guyana's 225 all out off their allotted 50 overs.

Miller smashed a scintillating 133 from 115 balls and shared a 188-run opening stand with Christie Jones (62) as Jamaica raced to 229 for two.

"When you get a century opening stand chasing 228, it sets you up for victory. By the time the stand was broken, the game was virtually won," an elated Coley disclosed.

He said Miller was his usual self and was not afraid to play his attacking shots.

"He attacked and was not afraid to go over the top but his shot selection was very good and he hit the ball straight," said Coley, who was a player the last time St. Kitts hosted the regional Under-19 competition in 1993.

SNATCHED GAME

Guyana's coach Huburn Evans conceded that Miller's innings had snatched the game emphatically from his side.

"His innings was absolutely superb! He took the game away from us from ball one with clean hitting and gave Jamaica total control," the former Guyana first-class batsman said.

"We play excellent three-day cricket but we will have to be a lot more purposeful in one-day cricket if we want to be successful.

"We needed to accelerate towards the end of our innings but once again we were not aggressive enough or positive enough. One-day cricket is about aggression and this is something which we seem to lack."

He said Vishal Singh, who top-scored with 79, played a responsible innings but should have been there at the end and played a bit more positive.