CAVE HILL, Barbados (CMC) – Two late wickets – one of them Chadwick Walton in the final over – tipped the scales in favour of Jamaica in their battle with Combined Campuses & Colleges for the last semi-final slot in the Regional Four-Day Championship here yesterday.

Walton made a composed 47 and Raymon Reifer batted resolutely for 30 before they were both dismissed in the final half-hour, as the CCC reached 155 for five in their second innings at the close on the third day of the seventh round match, still needing 82 for victory.
The pair added 67 for the fourth wicket to revive the home team, after they wobbled to 64 for three, chasing 237 for victory on a 3Ws Oval pitch still playing quite true.
Both gifted their wickets however, with the dismissal of Walton in the final over highly likely to cause the most consternation in the CCC outfit, as they chased a victory to seal a place in the Final Four, starting next Saturday.
Earlier, Carlton Baugh Jr hit 78, his second half-century of the match, to lead a rearguard action, as Jamaica were bowled out for 215 in their second innings about 55 minutes after lunch.
Jermaine Blackwood supported with 48, but the visitors’ batting was undermined by leg-spinner Akeem Dewar with four for 74 from 25 overs, while Raymon Reifer and off-spinner Ryan Austin grabbed two wickets apiece.
CCC then stumbled to 56 for two at tea, after Jerome Taylor had Shacaya Thomas caught at second slip for 15 and the veteran left-hander Floyd Reifer, Raymon’s older cousin, caught behind down the leg-side for two from a top-edged hook.
After tea, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller set back the CCC further, when he trapped Kyle Corbin lbw for 31, playing back and across.
The younger Reifer came to the crease and spent close to 90 minutes with Walton and eased the tension with circumspect batting, defying purposeful spells from Taylor and left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cotterell, as well as Miller’s steady bowling.
Just when it appeared that Jamaica’s shoulders were about to droop, the younger Reifer essayed a slog/sweep at a delivery from leg-spinner Damion Jacobs and was caught at deep mid-wicket.
With the close approaching, Walton chose discretion as the best part of valour and seemed determined to cause his opponents a sleepless night.
But Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert turned to John Campbell’s uncomplicated off-spin in the final stages and it paid handsomely, when Walton tried to clear long-off and was caught just inside the boundary with four balls remaining in the day.
Earlier, two wickets in the space of three balls to Dewar had Jamaica scrambling on 94 for five inside the first hour.
Starting the day on 79 for three, the visitors lost West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels caught behind down the leg-side for 11 from a glance in the fifth over of the day.
The beanpole Dewar then tightened the screws, when he had Andre McCarthy caught at second slip for four and Lambert caught at silly-point for a second-ball duck.
But Baugh came to the crease and dominated an 80-run stand with Blackwood that took the sting out of the CCC attack, reaching his 50 from 49 balls with an extra cover drive off Austin for the fifth of his six fours.
Blackwood was caught at second slip off Dewar, as the Jamaicans reached 175 for six at lunch before crumbling after the interval, despite Baugh’s aggression.
With the top three teams – Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Windward Islands – having all secured a place in the semi-finals, the last slot has come down to a straight shoot-out between CCC and Jamaica.

JAMAICA first innings 182
Combined Campuses & Colleges 1st innings 161
JAMAICA 2nd innings (o/n 79 for two)

N. Bonner c Corbin b R. Reifer 12
J. Campbell c Corbin b Warrican 38
J. Blackwood c F. Reifer b Dewar 48
M. Samuels c wkp. Walton b R. Reifer 11
A. McCarthy c F. Reifer b Dewar 4
T. Lambert c Thomas b Dewar 0
C. Baugh c R. Reifer b Dewar 78
N. Miller run-out 0
D. Jacobs b Austin 10
J. Taylor c Corbin b Austin 6
S. Cotterell not out 1
Extras: (b-6, nb-1) 7
Total: (all out, 80.2 overs) 215
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-69, 3-89, 4-94, 5-94, 6-174, 7-176, 8-202, 9-208.
Bowling: McClean 4-0-20-0; Austin 19.2-3-50-2; R. Reifer 11-3-32-2 (nb-1); Warrican 20-8-32-1; Dewar 25-3-74-4; Jacobs 1-0-2-0.

CCC 2nd innings (target: 237)
S. Thomas c Campbell b Taylor 15
K. Corbin lbw b Miller 31
F. Reifer c wkp. Baugh b Taylor 2
C. Walton c Taylor b Campbell 47
R. Reifer c Taylor b Jacobs 30
S. Jacobs not out 18
Extras: (b7, lb3, w1, nb1) 12
Total: (5 wkts, 48.2 overs) 155
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-27, 3-64, 4-131, 5-155.
Bowling: Taylor 7-1-36-2 (nb-1, w-1); Cottrell 6-0-10-0; Miller 21-2-56-1; Jacobs 11-1-31-1; Lambert 2-0-8-0; Campbell 1.2-0-4-1
Position: CCC trail by 81 with five second innings wickets standing