By Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
Jamaica's David Bernard Jnr. plays through mid-on during his unbeaten 69 against the Windward Islands in their Carib International Challenge semi-final match at Alpart Sports Club yesterday. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
THE BATTLE between Jamaica and the Windward Islands for a place in the final of the International Challenge Trophy section of the Carib Beer cricket series got under way at Alpart yesterday with both teams trading shots and sharing the honours during an absorbing day's play.
At stumps on the first day, Jamaica, stunned by a second-ball dismissal of star batsman Christopher Gayle and up against some tight bowling, good field-placing and good if not brilliant fielding, were 215 for six after starting disappointingly, recovering well, losing three wickets in rapid succession and then, thanks to a lovely undefeated innings by David Bernard Jnr., recovering well again.
Bernard is on 69 not out after batting for 182 minutes, facing 129 deliveries, stroking eight fours and hitting one six.
EARLY BLOW
Batting first after losing the toss, Jamaica who, based on reports coming out of their dressing room, would have batted first on a pitch glistening in the morning's sunshine had they won the toss, suffered an early blow when the left-handed Gayle, coming off a magnificent 219 against the Leeward Islands, went neither back nor forward, did not go across in an attempt to get behind the ball, and edged a good length delivery from fast bowler Fernix Thomas to wicketkeeper Lyndon James.
On a day of gripping action, however, Jamaica steadied themselves with a solid second-wicket partnership of 88 in 40 overs between Maurice Kepple, 39, and Donovan Pagon, 45, and were looking good at 88 for one before they lost three wickets for two runs in eight minutes.
They skidded to 90 for four and were rescued by Keith Hibbert, 17, Bernard 69 not out, and a lucky and unlucky Carlton Baugh Jnr. who, bowled by a no-ball at seven by legspinner Rawl Lewis and dropped at nine at second slip by Darren Sammy when he cut at pacer Thomas, was run out for 11 at 170 six when, with the batsmen going for a quick single, Deighton Butler ran in, picked up cleanly and hit the stumps at the wicketkeeper's end with a powerful, accurate throw.
After playing confidently while stroking two fours and hitting Shane Shillingford over long-on for six, Kepple swept at the offspinner and top-edged a catch to Devon Smith halfway to the long-leg boundary.
That was 88 for two in the 42nd over, and it was 88 for three, when in the following over, Pagon, whose five boundaries included a master stroke when he went on to the front-foot and whipped a short delivery from pacer Sammy to the mid-wicket boundary, drove loosely at a widish delivery from left-arm pacer Butler and nicked a catch to James.
It 90 for four when Tamar Lambert swept Shillingford to Butler on the backward square-leg boundary, and it was 132 for five when Hibbert, after a few good strokes, including a lovely square-drive off Butler and a flowing extra-cover drive off Shillingford, went back to Sammy, attempted to cut, and was caught off the bottom edge by James.
STROKES
With Baugh going at 170 for six, Nehemiah Perry joined Bernard and fortunately for Jamaica, the pair batted to the end of the day with Perry playing two of the best strokes of the day when he eased on to the front-foot and drove Butler straight and when, in the following over, he went on to the front-foot and drove the pacer to the mid-wicket boundary.
The best strokes, however, the best shots of the day, were paraded by Bernard - the best batsman of the day.
Joining the action with the innings falling apart at 90 for four, Bernard announced his arrival immediately with a lovely drive off Shillingford to the long-off boundary and then proceeded to stamp his class on the proceedings with some elegant strokes and some brilliant shots.
The most elegant was a back foot drive off Thomas to the cover boundary, the most brilliant, a flick out of his pads off Sammy that flew high and over the backward square-leg boundary.
