England A wrap up seven wicket victory over Jamaica

Kate Laven

February 5, 2001

England A took just 55 minutes to complete an emphatic seven wicket victory over Busta Cup leaders Jamaica at Sabina Park today.

Courtney Walsh Photo CricInfo

It was an excellent win for Mark Alleyne's side after they had dominated play from the outset against a squad which is regarded as the best in the Caribbean. Their task of scoring the 50 runs needed for victory was made easier by a hamstring injury to West Indies bowler Courtney Walsh, who pulled up after nine overs yesterday and is now looking uncertain to play in the forthcoming Test series against South Africa.

Resuming on 133 for two this morning, England A quickly lost John Crawley when he was deceived by a straight ball from spinner Nehemiah Perry. His nick to the wicketkeeper, Keith Hibbert, ended a steady innings from the Lancashire captain who is an increasingly key player in the England A line up.

But his partner Vikram Solanki remained focussed and with Usman Afzaal, kept the scoreboard ticking over with some elegant stroke-play and well-judged singles. Afzaal had two lucky escapes when he was dropped on one by the keeper who then missed a stumping when the batsman was on five.

But from that point until the congratulatory handshakes were offered, there was little to disturb the pair's concentration and Solanki finished unbeaten on 34, with Afzaal not out 17.

It was an impressive performance, skipper Mark Alleyne said afterwards, and set them up to secure their place in the Busta Cup semi-finals starting on February 23rd with bottom of the table Windward Islands their next opponents in St Lucia on Friday.

"Jamaica are top of the table, defending champions and a very competitive team so we are pleased with this result," said Alleyne, whose first innings score of 39 contributed to their lead at the halfway point.

"We had a slight advantage over the game by bowling first. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had won the toss. It was always going to be a tricky decision.

"The first day it did quite a lot for the bowlers so to bowl them out for 170 off gave us a lot of confidence and although we only just scraped a first innings lead, we knew that batting second would be a lot easier.

"The pitch did a little too much on the first day but it was a good cricket wicket. It encouraged the spinners and the seamers got a little bit of assistance. Also if you got in and batted on it, you could play your shots.

"I thought we took our half-chances in this game, which can make a difference. We only had one let up with Chris Read in the first innings but we took some good catches. And it was good to see Ryan Sidebottom getting another good long spell under his belt and he looked really threatening throughout the whole game."

Ryan Sidebottom was awarded the man of the match award by the adjudicators after a fine performance that earned him 5-31 in the first innings and 3-43 in the second. Alleyne has also played himself into form after a disappointing start to the tour.

"I had a bad start, nicking a couple to the slips but I took a match off in Grenada and worked on my game and since then have felt really good. Still haven't got the big score that I feel that I could get but I am quite pleased with the way things are going."

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England A v Jamaica

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Busta Cup

England A tour of West Indies

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