Discovery Bay — At 104 without loss in mid-afternoon, the Leeward Islands were sitting pretty. Then they lost all 10 wickets for 58 runs to hand Jamaica first innings points and the driver’s seat on day two of their top-of-the-table fourth round Busta Cup clash here yesterday.

Gareth Breese, cleverly varying his flighted off-breaks, was at the heart of the devastation with six for 57 from 25 overs as the Leewards batsmen — not for the first time — seemed clueless against Jamaican spinners.

By day’s end Jamaica, batting a second time after dismissing the Leeward Islands for 162, had reached 14-1 following up on their first innings 257 for an overall lead of 109 with nine wickets in hand and two days remaining.

All told 14 wickets fell yesterday for 224 runs on a pitch that was a vast improvement on the first two sessions of the first day.

The late afternoon dismissal of David Bernard Jr (0) gave the Leewards reason to hope but the inform Leon Garrick not out four, and Keith Hibbert, not out eight, will resume battle for Jamaica today.

The Leewards had every reason to believe they were taking the game away from Jamaica when captain and former West Indies opener, Stuart Williams, who hit a 114-ball 57 (seven fours) and Alex Adams who stroked 46 (112 balls and five fours) were together.

But then Adams was adjudged leg before to a Ricardo Powell offbreak and Breese aided by the left arm spinner, Ryan Cunningham (2-15 from 15 overs), and pacer, Jermaine Lawson (1-14), who grabbed the last wicket, reduced the batting to rubble.

Williams and Adams apart only Junie Mitchum (18), who was last man out after battling for 88 balls, and number 10 batsman, Adam Sanford, with a lusty 16, got to double figures.

Earlier in the day, Mario Ventura reached 52 not out, his third unbeaten half-century of the tournament, as Jamaica added 48 in the first 70 minutes of play for the loss of the last three wickets.

The impressive seamer, Kerry Jeremy, extended his wicket tally this season to 24 with yet another five wicket haul (5-51). Darren Powell added two to his overnight 25, while Jermaine Lawson (10) and Ryan Cunningham (16 run out) provided valuable company for Ventura.

After the umpires called bad light with 10 minutes of the day’s play remaining, Jamaica captain Robert Samuels said the sensational Leewards collapse came as no surprise to him.

“I told the guys in the dressing room that Leeward Islands always beat the new ball but I also told them that as soon as the ball got older everything would be alright,” the Jamaican captain said.

Asked about plans for tomorrow, Samuels said: “Simple, We need to bat these guys out of the game.”

Leewards coach, John Archibald, while noting that “West Indian batsmen don’t play spin well”, pledged that his batsmen would have a different approach in the Leewards’ second innings. “We did not play the spin positively enough today but second time around it’s going to be different,” he said.

In 40 minutes before lunch, Williams and Adams rushed to 39 for no loss with no trouble, giving no sign of the debacle to follow.

Williams, who before yesterday had scored 390 runs in three matches for a 97.50 average, looked ominously certain. They extended the partnership well into the post-lunch session before Ricardo Powell struck in his first over — the 32nd — getting umpire Cecil Fletcher’s leg before verdict against Alex Adams. A clearly disappointed Adams took his time in leaving the crease. One run later, Sylvester Joseph — a double centurion in his last game — prodding forward to Breese, pushed into the grasp of Leon Garrick at silly point to depart without scoring.

And Cunningham, brought back to replace Powell after just four overs, disposed of Dave Joseph caught and bowled off the leading edge as the bulky right-hander attempted to flick against the spin. Two balls earlier, Hibbert had missed an easy stumping as Joseph left his crease to the left-arm finger spinner and missed his attempted on-drive.

Without addition and with tea just minutes away, Williams apparently feeling the pressure, danced down to Breese and hit a dolly catch to Bernard at deep mid-on in the 43rd over.

Eleven minutes after the tea break, Ian Tittle (0), pushing forward to Cunningham edged to Samuels at slip in the 48th over at 113-5 and in the following over Omari Banks (0) driving at Breese was caught bat and pad by Garrick at silly point — 114-6.

The aggressive Jason Williams (6) lost Breese’s cleverly flighted delivery and also his middle stump at 128-7 in the 52nd over.

Breese followed up with the scalp of Jeremy (0) bowled middle and off as he drove at one which did not turn at 128-8. The powerful Adam Sanford lofted Breese straight for six and over cover for four but in trying to repeat, was bowled by a slightly faster, flatter delivery at 150-9.

Goldwyn Prince at zero was dropped by substitute, Wayne Cuff, a steepling catch off Cunningham.

In the end, it was pacer Lawson brought back immediately after the final drinks break, who found the edge of Mitchum’s bat through to ‘keeper Hibbert, to end the innings and leave Jamaica in charge.