Tony Becca, Contributor

Jamaica's skipper Chris Gayle loses his balance and falls while playing a stroke during the Carib Beer Series match against the Windward Islands at Alpart Sports Club yesterday. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Jamaica and the Windward Islands, one the leaders and hunting the title, the other down the ladder and without the chance of a snowball in hell of winning anything, are locked in a battle for the honours in the Carib Beer Series cricket match at Alpart Sports Club in Nain, St Elizabeth.

At stumps on yesterday's first day's play of the four-day contest, the scoreboard read Jamaica, on 46 points and needing a maximum 12 from this their last assignment to guarantee the title, 232, the Windward Islands one run for two wickets.

After falling for what appeared a disappointing score, Jamaica struck immediately with fast bowler Daren Powell removing left-handers Devon Smith for one and Ray Casimir for zero - the dangerous Smith going leg before wicket with a delivery that cut back off the seam - and nightwatchman Casimir beaten for pace and bowled off the bat.

Looking comfortable

After losing the toss and being sent to bat in brilliant sunshine and on what appeared a lovely pitch for batting but which turned out to be slow and a bit uncomfortable as far as the bounce was concerned, Jamaica, on 95 for two after losing Brenton Parchment and Danza Hyatt for 15 and four, respectively, were going well with captain Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels looking comfortable and stroking the ball nicely.

Suddenly, however, on a day when all 12 wickets fell at one end - at the northern end, the home team's batsmen buckled in the face of some consistent but far-from-inspired bowling from pacers Nelon Pascal and left-hander Deighton Butler, as well as off-spinner Shane Shillingford, who finished with four wickets for 76 runs off 21.3 overs.

Gayle, the big left-hander who was somewhat subdued at the start of his innings, smashed eight fours and one six while scoring 55 in 141 minutes off 114 deliveries before, almost immediately after leaning forward and stroking medium-pacer Daren Sammy sweetly through the covers and hitting Shillingford over wide long-on for a towering six, he pushed forward to Butler bowling over the wicket and edged a straightforward catch to wicket-keeper Lyndon James.

That was 95 for three in the 36th over and 40 minutes later, it was 119 for four in the 48th when Samuels, after clipping Pascal over square-leg, after two well-timed lofted off drives off Shillingford, went back, attempted to pull Pascal, nicked the ball, a short delivery, on to his leg-stump and departed the scene for 22.

With Brendan Nash, but for a delicate late-cut off Pascal and a copybook sweep off Shillingford playing quietly as usual, with Tamar Lambert reeling off some lovely strokes, Jamaica looked set to steady themselves and to go on to a substantial score before, in the space of 12 minutes, four overs and seven runs, they were both back in the pavilion with the scoreboard reading 159 for six in the 62nd over.

Slight edge

When David Bernard Jr, on six, chipped to Shillingford and the ball, drifting away from the right-hander in the slight breeze, nicked the edge of his bat and landed in the hands of Sammy at slip, it was 181 for seven in the 68th over with right-arm leg-spinner Rawl Lewis, the Windward Islands captain, the West Indies bowler who was nursing an injured shoulder, still to bowl an over.

After going down on one knee and hitting Shillingford high to the mid-wicket boundary, after batting as if he intended to do so forever, Carlton Baugh Jr slipped his left-foot down the pitch, drove Butler straight to Browne at cover and walked slowly away at 210 for eight after scoring 25.

Jerome Taylor followed imme-diately at 210 for nine when he nicked the next delivery from Butler to James and the home team's innings ended when Nikita Miller, on 25 and after a glorious square-drive off left-arm spinner Casimir, went back to Shillingford and was bowled by a delivery which, unfortunately for the batsman, kept low and hit the base of the off-stump.