NIKITA Miller bowled impressively for Jamaica to claim his fifth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, but noted it was harder to bowl on a flat pitch than it appeared.

On the opening day of the WICB Regional Four-day competition versus the Windward Islands at Chedwin Park, Miller, 27, grabbed seven for 28 as Jamaica dismissed the visitors for 181.

“It wasn’t as easy as it looked…,” said Miller at close of play. “I had to put in a great deal of thought… I had to assess the wicket early, I used up the bounce and the trueness of the wicket to my advantage and try to put the ball in the right areas so I could make it very difficult for the batsmen.”

Jamaica won the toss and opted to field and it was not long before Miller struck, removing both openers before grabbing wickets in the next remaining sessions despite a defiant unbeaten 82 from former skipper Raul Lewis.

“This kind of wicket suited my bowling even though it wasn’t easy to bowl on it,” said the left-arm orthodox spinner. “It was good for batting and Raul Lewis showed that in the latter stages of the innings… and think that’s the way we need to approach our innings when we bat,” added Miller.

Jamaica had a poor start in their reply and the game was evenly poised with the host reaching 36 for two. Miller, who is the vice-captain of the team, berated the importance of getting a good start in this new format of the tournament and was confident that Jamaica are ready to battle their way to first innings on day two.

Said Miller: “We are looking to get a great start because we’ll be on the road for the rest of the time… so we have to leave home with full points. We are going to push… so that we can leave here with some sort of advantage.”