BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Opener John Campbell’s half-century was enough to see Jamaica Scorpions to their third straight win in as many matches, as they trounced minnows USA Cricket by seven wickets in the Regional Super50 here Monday.
Chasing a modest 145, Scorpions strolled to their target in the 27th over, to extend their unbeaten run and remain top of Group B.
The left-handed Campbell struck 56 from 72 deliveries while fellow opener Chadwick Walton got 28 and out-of-favour Test batsman Jermaine Blackwood, 22.
USA had opted to bat earlier in the day/night contest at Kensington Oval but were dismissed for 144 in the 43rd over with Timil Patel top-scoring with 37, Roy Silva getting 27 and David Wakefield and Alex Amsterdam both gathering 25.
Left-arm spinner and captain Nikita Miller claimed three for 41 while left-arm spinner Fabian Allen (2-18) and fast bowler Oshane Thomas (2-22) picked up two wickets apiece.
USA Cricket were in early trouble at 24 for two in the sixth over before two half-century partnerships revived the innings.
Amsterdam and Wakefield first added exactly 50 for the third wicket but the stand was a slow one, consuming 102 deliveries as Scorpions bowlers restricted the scoring.
When both fell in a three-wicket slide with just seven runs added to leave USA on 81 for five in the 27th over, Timil Patel and Silva came together in a 57-run sixth wicket stand to bolster the innings.
Timil struck four boundaries in a 55-ball knock while Silva produced a breezy 34-ball knock which included three fours and a six.
However, once Timil was run out in the 39th over, USA lost their last five wickets for six runs in the space of 24 deliveries in a dramatic slide.
Scorpions then erased any doubt about the result as Campbell anchored two successive half-century stands up front. He posted 51 from 59 balls with Walton for the first wicket and a further 55 off 73 deliveries for the second wicket with Blackwood.
Campbell faced 72 balls and counted six fours before becoming the first of left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar’s two wickets, with the score on 106 at the end of the 22nd over. Blackwood followed 10 balls later, bowled by Netravalkar (2-34) but Andre McCarthy and West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell, both with 17 not out, saw Scorpions home in an unbroken 30-run stand.
