BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Spin twins Damion Jacobs and Nikita Miller shared eight wickets to follow up powerful batting that concluded with a third first-class hundred for Devon Thomas and spur Jamaica Scorpions to an innings and 73-run victory over Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the WICB Regional 4-Day Tournament on Saturday.
Jacobs grabbed 5-64 from 18 overs to end with match figures of 10 for 167 and Miller collected 3-44, as the Hurricanes, trailing by 307 on first innings, were bowled out for 234 in their second innings about an hour past the scheduled close on the rain-marred third day of the day/night, fifth-round match at Warner Park.
Left-hander Chesney Hughes was the mainstay of the batting for the Hurricanes with 54, wicketkeeper/batsman Jahmar Hamilton supported with 45, left-handed opener Kieran Powell, the Hurricanes captain and former West Indies opener, made 40, veteran all-rounder Tonito Willett added 27 and Kacey Carty, a member of this year’s West Indies Under-19 World Cup winning squad, got 23.
The result meant that the Scorpions bagged a whopping 21 points from the match, moving them to a total of 67.8 and extending their lead at the top of the standings. Hurricanes ended with 3.8 and now have 40.4.
The Antigua-born Thomas, a former Hurricanes captain, became the second century-maker for the Scorpions, finishing unbeaten on 114, to follow Brandon King, who was dismissed earlier in the day for 194, as the visitors piled up 550 for seven declared.
King smote 17 fours and 13 sixes in a memorable maiden first-class hundred that lasted 218 balls in 288 minutes.
Thomas struck 14 fours and one six from 227 balls in a shade over 5 ¼ hours of batting and anchored the rest of the innings following his record stand of 309 for the fifth wicket with King before they declaration came about 40 minutes before the dinner break.
Powell gave the Hurricanes a frenetic start, smashing eight fours and one six from 17 balls in a 15-minute stay at the crease before he was caught at cover off Reynard Leveridge.
The Hurricanes reached 53 for one at dinner and were 77 for two, having lost opener Montcin Hodge caught at first slip off Marquino Mindley, when rain drove the players off the ground on resumption.
An early tea break was taken following the lengthy rain delay and the Hurricanes offered token resistance only when play resumed.
Carty added 46 with Hughes for the third wicket before he became the first of Jacobs’ scalps when he was bowled swinging wildly at a well tossed up delivery from the leg-spinner.
Hughes then shared 62 in the biggest stand of the innings for the fourth wicket with the in-form Hamilton, defying two rain interruptions to reach his 50 from 138 balls, before he dragged a delivery from Miller to mid-wicket, leaving the Hurricanes 174 for four.
The home team reached 200 without further incident, but Jacobs bowled Hamilton off the inside edge and triggered a collapse that saw five wickets fall for six runs in the space of 63 deliveries before Miller trapped Willett lbw to bring the curtain down.
Earlier, the Scorpions, resuming the day on 461 for four, continued to plunder the depleted Hurricanes attack which had lost the services of Cornwall the previous day and was now further hampered by a sore shoulder that sidelined Gavin Tonge.
Thomas drove Jeremiah Louis through cover for four to bring up the Scorpions’ 500 and soon after celebrated a 300-run stand with King.
Willett made the breakthrough for Leewards about 1 ½ hours after the start, when he had King caught at long-off.
Three overs later, Rovman Powell was run out for a duck, when he got no response to a call for a single to mid-wicket from Thomas, whose hundred came from a thick edge off Louis to third man for his 12th four.
Louis had more luck, when he had Jacobs caught at long-off before Thomas and Miller hustled the lead over 300 to usher the declaration.
The two teams – like the rest around the League – will endure the long break in the Tournament for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, plus the Regional Super50 Tournament before picking things back up in March next year.
