Charlie Smith's Leroy Clarke scores with a simple tap-in past the diving goalkeeper, Pembroke Hall's Rashap Pusey, during their Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association/Pepsi/Digicel Manning Cup football match at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex, yesterday. Charlie Smith won 6-0, with all goals scored in the first half. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

A belligerent 71 from West Indies left-hander Chris Gayle led Jamaica to an emphatic nine-wicket victory over the West Indies Under-19 side at Enmore and confirmed their place in the KFC Cup semi-finals here yesterday.

The Jamaican skipper, who took the Man-of-the-Match award, clobbered seven fours and four sixes in his explosive 50-ball innings as Jamaica raced to 112 for one in 13 overs on a flat pitch after the West Indies Under-19s had crashed to 110 all out in 36.4 overs.

Off-spinner Tamar Lambert (3-9) and left-arm spinner Nikita Miller (3-15) did the bulk of the damage after pacer Darren Powell (2-22) began the game in sensational fashion with wickets off the first two balls for the Jamaicans, who won the toss and opted to field.

A fighting 56-run, third wicket partnership between Guyanese Rajendra Chandrika (18) and Barbadian Shamarh Brooks (36) could not prevent the Under-19's demise.

Bonus points

Jamaica took two bonus points for their comprehensive victory to move to 11 points and will now oppose Barbados at the Guyana National Stadium in their final preliminary game tomorrow.

Gayle, a veteran of 174 ODIs, launched a savage attack on the youngsters and posted 104 with Brenton Parchment (24 not out) for the first wicket before he was bowled by Shacoya Thomas with victory seven runs away.

Gayle was especially severe on pacer Kelbert Walters, hitting him for consecutive fours to reach his fifty from 31 balls and continued the carnage with a six over cover and a four to wide long-on in the last over before lunch which cost 18. He had greeted left-arm spinner Veera-sammy Permaul with two huge sixes in his first over as Jamaica galloped to 90 without loss off nine overs at the interval.

Parchment hit a six and a four in his 35-ball knock and Shawn Findlay (eight not out) finished the contest in authoritative fashion with consecutive boundaries off Thomas.

Chandrika and Brooks had earlier rescued the West Indies youth side from another potential disaster, after their side lost wickets with the first two balls of the innings with no runs on the board.

Chandrika, battling influenza, played a gorgeous straight drive for four off Powell and then in Rohan Kanhai-like fashion, disdainfully hooked fast bowler Jerome Taylor to the square-leg boundary, falling on his back, to the delight of his home fans.

Brooks looked the most organised of the batsmen and magnificently punched Powell to the cover boundary before audaciously cutting Taylor for another boundary to point.

The fifty was posted in the 14th over but two more wickets tumbled at 56 when Chandrika was bowled by Taylor after hitting two fours from 49 balls and Shacoya Thomas (0) was brilliantly run out by Australian Brendon Nash.

WI UNDER-19s

C Hughes b Powell 0

R Chandrika b Taylor 18

+D Thomas c Findlay b Powell 0

S Brooks c & b Miller 36

S Thomas run out 0

N Bonner c Miller b Lambert 10

A Creary b Lambert 10

L Lawrence b Lambert 0

D Johnson c & b Miller 16

V Permaul lbw b Miller 2

K Walters not out 0

Extras (w15, lb3) 18

TOTAL (all out, 36.4 overs) 110

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-56, 4-56, 5-71, 6-81, 7-81, 8-108, 9-110, 10-110.

Bowling: Powell 5-2-22-2, Santokie 4-1-9-0, Nash 5-0-16-0, Taylor 8-1-36-1, Lambert 8.4-2-9-3, Miller 6-1-15-3.

JAMAICA

C Gayle b Thomas 71

B Parchment not out 24

S Findlay not out 8

Extras (w9) 9

TOTAL (1 wkt, 13 overs) 112

Fall of wicket: 1-104.

Did not bat: Brendon Nash, Danza Hyatt, Tamar Lambert, +Carlton Baugh, Krishmar Santokie, Nikita Miller, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor.

Bowling: Walters 5-0-47-0, D Johnson 3-0-28-0, Permaul 3-0-23-0, S Thomas 2-0-14-1.

Result: Jamaica won by nine wickets.

Points: Jamaica 6, WI Uunder-19s 0

Toss: Jamaica.

Umpires: Clancy Mack, Clyde Duncan.