BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Purposeful bowling followed solid batting led by Danza Hyatt to lead Jamaica to a third place finish in the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship, following a 10-run victory over Windwards Islands yesterday.
Dave Bernard collected three wickets for 25 runs from his allotment of four overs, Odean Brown captured three for 34 from his four overs, and newcomer Sheldon Cotterrell took two for 17 from four, as the Windwards, chasing 154, were restricted to 144 for nine from their allocation of 20 overs in the Consolation Final at Kensington Oval.
It was an improvement for Jamaica over last year’s competition, when they finished fourth, following a defeat to hosts Trinidad & Tobago in the same match.
The outcome still did not fully justify the upheaval that took place in the management of the Jamaican side for this competition, which saw Gus Logie taking over from Junior Bennett as coach, and Wavell Hinds given the captaincy ahead of successful first-class captain Tamar Lambert.
For the Windwards, it was also an improvement for them over last year, when they failed to make the Final Four, despite impressing early.
Hyatt struck two fours and three sixes in the top score of 43 not out from 21 balls that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, as Jamaica reached 153 for eight from their 20 overs, after choosing to bat.
Windwards were then setback early, when Johnson Charles was adjudged lbw to newcomer Sheldon Cotterrell for two in the third over, and their innings continued to suffer from the regular fall of wickets.
Only newcomer Linden Lawrence with the top score of 36, and Gary Mathurin with two fours and two sixes in a late flurry of 25 from 14 balls passed 20 in the Windwards’ innings.
Several other batsmen, including Devon Smith, Andre Fletcher, West Indies captain Darren Sammy, and Keddy Lesporis got starts without carrying on.
The closeness of the result came from the Jamaicans’ indifference in the closing stages, when the outcome looked inevitable, and a six over mid-wicket from the final ball of the match from Andre Russell, which Kerron Cottoy hit about 12 rows deep into the Greenidge & Haynes Stand on the western side of the ground.
Earlier, the Jamaicans benefitted from an opening stand of 57 between Xavier Marshall and Shawn Findlay before they stumbled to 73 for two in the 13th over.
Marshall was run out for 36, when he backed-up too far, and a straight drive from Findlay brushed the fingers of bowler Kerron Cottoy before hitting the stumps at the non-striker’s end in the ninth over, and Findlay was bowled for 25 charging Kenroy Peters.
Hyatt joined Marlon Samuels, and took charge to put on 50 for the third wicket from just 23 balls, overshadowing the most prolific batsman in the tournament.
When Samuels was caught at long-off off Nelon Pascal for 19 in the 17th over, the Jamaican innings collapsed, and they lost six wickets for just 30 runs in the last four overs.
