(SPORTS MAX) Andre McCarthy took six wickets including a hat-trick as the Jamaica Scorpions defeated the Barbados Pride by 51 runs at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and book a date with the Trinidad Red Force in the semi-finals of the CG Insurance Super50 on Wednesday.
Chasing 218 for victory, Barbados were cruising along at 118 for 1 but crumbled losing their last nine wickets for just 49 runs in what will go down as a famous victory for Jamaica. Shai Hope and Justin Greaves put on an opening stand of 52 when Jamie Merchant broke the partnership with the wicket of Greaves for 36. Hope and Shamarh Brooks then added 66 for the second wicket when, with the score at 118, Brooks was run out for 27.
Hope carried on to a half-century while adding 23 with Johnathan Carter before he was caught by Brandon King off Fabien Allen for 51 and triggered a rot from which Barbados would never recover. Allen then had Carter caught and bowled for 26 as Barbados reached 152 for 4, opening the door for McCarthy to take the next six wickets as Barbados collapsed to 167 all out.
After getting Jason Holder for one and Nicholas Kirton for 3 with the scores at 153 for 5 and 163 for 6, respectively, McCarthy dismissed Ashley Nurse for 2 and Akeem Jordan and Joshua Bishop in consecutive balls to have Barbados on the verge of defeat at 165 for 9. He would bowl Chemar Holder for 2 with the first ball of his next over as Barbados fell for 167.
McCarthy finished with 6-16 from 9.1 overs and was rightly named Man of the Match. Allen took 2-41. It was a match in which the bowlers rescued Jamaica with the ball and the bat. Jamaica’s last two wickets added 131 runs that eventually got them to 218 all out from a precarious position after 24.2 overs of 87 for 8 after Bishop ripped through the Jamaican top order taking 5 for 35 from his 10 overs.
However, Odean Smith scored an unbeaten 68 from 75 balls and featured in an 80-run ninth-wicket partnership with Jamie Merchant who contributed an invaluable 37. Smith and Jeavor Royal (16) then took Jamaica beyond 200 runs with a stand of 51 and onto what turned out to be a winning total.
Ashley Nurse took 2-51. Jamaica finished their preliminary round in fourth place on eight points.
