Tamar Lambert stepped forward with an excellent all round performance at the Queen's Park Oval on Thursday night to lead Jamaica to a 14-run victory over the Windward Islands in the opening game of the Nagico Regional Super50 tournament, despite a century from Keddy Lesporis.Scores: Jamaica 282 for five (50 overs) vs Windwards 268 for eight (50 overs).At the launch of the tournament CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Michael Muirhead called for runs and he got 550 runs from the opening match.Jamaica recovered from a perilous position off 32 for three thanks to 88 from Tamar Lambert and 93 from Andre McCarthy to post a healthy 282 for five and the Windwards replied with 268 for eight–narrowly losing.Chasing 283 runs for victory under the lights was always going to be a daunting task for the Islands but on a good batting surface, anything was possible.
They started off well with openers Johnson Charles and Devon Smith taking the attack to the Reggae men. Charles swiped his way to 40 off just 33 balls when he gave Nikita Miller the opening wicket.After his dismissal with the score at 65, things went downhill,as Tyrone Thoephile went for one and although West Indies batsman Andre Fletcher and Devon Smith added 31 for the third wicket, the writing was always on the wall.Fletcher went for 21 and Smith fell soon after for 52 off 81 balls with four fours. His dismissal was crucial as the innings was being built around him. Middle order batsman Keddy Lesporis then batted beautifully and started to take charge after Smith left.He got it down to 18 from the last three balls but opted to push for a single in the off-side to reach his century. It came off 98 balls with two sixes and 11 fours.The best of the Jamaican bowlers was the stingy Nikita Miller who ended with 3/35 off his 10-over quota.
Earlier, a brilliant comeback led by the durable Tamar Lambert and the exciting Andre McCarthy saved face for the Jamaicans who at one point were 32 for three.After Mervyn Matthews had removed openers Horace Miller (9), John Campbell (16) and Nkrumah Bonner (1) in his first spell, it looked like the normal story in regional cricket–runs at a premium.However, Lambert and McCarthy settled down for the long haul and after a period of cautious batting, they blossomed nicely to thrill the small crowd on hand.The Windwards' bowlers also had the take a great portion of the blame as they strayed in line and length on many occasions, inviting run scoring. The others did not take cue from pacer Matthews who used the conditions to great effect. In addition to bowling an immaculate line and length he employed clever use of change of pace and the Jamaicans were all at sea. When he came off the runs started to flow and Lambert and McCarthy combined to add 179 runs for the fourth wicket.However, just as both were closing in on well deserved centuries, Lambert fell for 88. He faced 99 balls, striking a six and 10 fours. As is the case with lengthy partnerships, when one goes the other follows and this was the case soon after as McCarthy left for 93 off 124 balls with two sixes and 10 fours. Towards the end of the innings Andre Russell (28) and Carlton Baugh (28) threw caution to the wind and the Jamaicans ended with their excellent score.
SCOREBOARD
Jamaica vs Windwards
Jamaica inns
H Miller c Smith b Matthew 9
J Campbell c Theophille b Matthew 16
N Bonner c Fletcher b Matthew 1
T Lambert c Fletcher b Johnson 88
A McCarthy c Emmanuel b Mathurin 93
A Russell not out 28
C Baugh not out 28
Extras 3nb, 14w, 2lb 19
Total for 5 wkts (50ovs) 282
Fall of wkts: 11, 28, 32, 211, 232.
Bowling: D Johnson 10-2-47-1, M Matthew 8.1-2-33-3, K Peters 10-1-66-0, G Mathurin 9.5-0-67-1, L Sebastien 10-0-53-0, J Charles 2-0-14-0.
Windwards Inns
J Charles c Campbell b Miller 40
D Smith c Lambert b Bonner 52
T Theophille c Richardson b Lambert 1
A Fletcher lbw Lambert 21
K Lesporis not out 100
R Currency c Miller b Bernard 2
L Sebastien c Campbell b Cotterell 11
G Mathurin b Miller 2
D Johnson c Bonner b Miller 2
M Matthew not out 25
Extras 5lb, 1nb, 6w" 12
Total for 8 wkts (50) 268
Fall of wkts: 62, 65, 97, 149, 152, 195, 213, 215.
Bowling: S Cotterell 10-0-66-1, A Russell 4-0-44-0, N Miller 10-0-35-3, T Lambert 10-0-32-2, A Richardson 5-0-31-0, D Bernard 8-0-38-1, N Bonner 3-0-17-1.
Result: Jamaica won by 14 runs.
Man-of-match: Tamar Lambert.
Jamaica 2pts.