Cricket

Miller bowls Jamaica to regional triple (Carib Beer Challenge Final – Day 3)

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Nikita Miller completed a 10-wicket match haul to help Jamaica land their third West Indies domestic title for the season, when they crushed Trinidad & Tobago in the Carib Beer Challenge Final by nine wickets inside three days on Saturday.

Left-arm spin bowler Miller captured five wickets for 92 runs from 30 overs to end with match figures of 10 for 119 to earn the Man-of-the-Match award, as T&T were dismissed for 241 in their second innings about 15 minutes before tea at Sabina Park.

Dave Mohammed hit the top score of 57 for T&T, and Richard Kelly too, enjoyed his time at the crease to help with the salvage operation for the visitors with an enterprising 50.

Chasing 70 runs for victory, Jamaica formalised the result, when Marlon Samuels, moving down the pitch, lofted Amit Jaggernauth over long-on for six.

The victory meant that Jamaica had made a sweep of the three major regional titles, following their capture of the KFC Cup West Indies limited-overs championship last October over the same opponents, and the Carib Beer Cup, symbol of regional first-class supremacy, earlier this season.

For T&T, it was another uncharacteristic performance from their batsmen which literally gifted the trophy to Jamaica.

Miller scalped four wickets in the morning period to leave T&T teetering on the brink of defeat, when they reached 145 for six at lunch – still 27 runs in arrears.

Miller removed Darren Bravo, Adrian Barath, Kieron Pollard, and Denesh Ramdin, after T&T resumed from their overnight total of 43 without loss.

Daren Powell made the breakthrough for Jamaica, when Daren Ganga was bowled for 27 playing an indescribable cross-batted stroke at a full-length delivery.

Three overs later, Bravo, younger brother of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, was caught at silly point off bat-pad playing defensively forward to hand Miller his first scalp and leave T&T on 51 for two.

Lendl Simmons came to the wicket and spent 40 minutes with Barath. They stemmed the fall of wickets, but they were dismissed within five balls of each other to set T&T back on 90 for four.

Barath was caught at slip off Miller for 33, and Simmons was palpably adjudged lbw to Jerome Taylor for 13.

Pollard’s first scoring stroke had been a straight six off Miller and he also struck his third ball from the spinner for a boundary over cover.

He again punished Miller with another straight six in the bowler’s 16th over before Miller gained his revenge, when Pollard was caught inside the long-on boundary for 20 essaying another lofted straight drive.

Ramdin appeared at his regular No.6 position, and showed no ill-effects from the blow to his face that prevented him from taking his rightful place behind the stumps when Jamaica batted.

He spent just over half-hour at the crease before he gifted his wicket with a loose drive at a flighted ball from Miller and was caught at slip for six in the last 15 minutes before lunch.

After the interval, the T&T tail wagged and beefed-up their side’s total with some calculated batting.

Kelly reached his 50, when he swung a delivery from Miller over mid-wicket for the last of his four sixes, but he soon fell essaying a slog/sweep at a delivery from Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert, bowling his uncomplicated off-spin, to give Marlon Samuels the first of his three catches at slip running back.

The left-handed Kelly – watched by his flag-waving, sign-carrying sister in the George Headley Stand – also struck three fours in his 34-ball knock that lasted almost 45 minutes.

For the next 40 minutes, Jamaica could find no way through the T&T batsmen until leg-spinner Odean Brown had Ravi Rampaul caught for 19.

But there was further resistance lower down the T&T order, and Mohammed turned Lambert into square leg for a single to reach his 50.

Fortune then favoured Mohammed, when on 51, Samuels dropped him at gully off Powell, but the Jamaicans did not have to wait too long for his scalp.

Miller completed his five-for and carried his tally of wickets to a season-high 42, when he held an easy return catch from Mohammed to end the left-hander’s 101-ball innings which lasted a little over 1-3/4 hours and contained three fours and one six.

Powell then brought the innings to a close when he spectacularly bowled Mervyn Dillon middle-stump for one to finish with two for 42 from 13.3 overs.

Though Jamaica lost Brenton Parchment caught behind for four off Rampaul when they started their chase.

But Samuels came to the crease and, after absorbing some early pressure, started to belt the ball around the park, and hastened the end.

The Carib Beer Challenge Final is the ceremonial end to the West Indies first-class season, and features the teams that finish in the top two positions from the Carib Beer Cup league competition..

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