by D. Victor

Created on: July 29, 2010

In the second round of Zone A matches, minnows Canada faced Jamaica at Bridgetown. The Canadians were coming off a heavy defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, while Jamaica experienced success against Leeward Islands. A win for the Jamaicans would send them through to the semi-finals with a game in hand. Defeat for Canada would mean an early exit for a side that qualified for the 2011 ICC World Cup.

Canada batted first and opened the innings with Hiral Patel and Geoff Barnett. Barnett was the top-scorer against T&T, batting at number three, so he got the chance to open the innings against Jamaica. However, both openers failed against the bowling of Dave Bernard Junior. Patel (7) failed for the second successive game, while Barnett (8) hit two boundaries in scoring eight runs off three balls before departing. Canada was wobbling at 27/3 when Rizwan Cheema, the captain, became Bernard's third wicket.

Jamaica-born Tyson Gordon (25) and Zubin Surkari (15) repaired the innings with a 43-run stand. However, both batsmen succumbed to spin with the score on 70. Canada lost two quick wickets to reach 78/7 in the 17th over. The North Americans looked in danger of not making it to three figures at that point. Trevin Bastiampillai (19) and Hamza Tariq (11) ensured that their team cross the 100-mark. Canada reached 101/7 off their 20 overs. Dave Bernard (3/13) was Jamaica's best bowler, while Tamar Lambert and Odean Brown scalped two wickets each.

Jamaica began their chase of the facile target in a dominant fashion. Hiral Patel, opening the bowling with spin, went for 39 runs off his four overs as Xavier Marshall and Dave Bernard sought to satisfy their appetite for runs. The pair nearly reached the target without losing a wicket, but Xavier Marshall fell for 52 off 43 balls to part-timer Trevin Bastiampillai. That was the only success for Canada as Jamaica reached their target with 42 balls remaining.

Dave Bernard was the player of the match for his fine all-round performance; he took 3/13 and scored 36 not out off 33 balls, with three fours and one six. Jamaica qualified for the semi-finals while Canada was eliminated after playing badly in two matches. The Jamaicans would face a top-of-the-table clash with perennial rival T&T to determine who would finish atop Zone A, while Canada and Leeward Islands were set to square off in a match of academic value.

 

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