For a little over an hour, the Windward Islands seemed to so near to batting’s promised land.

But then Jamaica’s vice-captain Nikita Miller’s bubble-bursting seven-wicket harvest left the visitors spellbound despite the heroics of their former captain, by close of the opening day of the first round regional four-day cricket match at Chedwin Park yesterday.

Miller took seven for 28, his second best first-class bowling figures, as he sliced through the batting like a hot knife going through butter, with the visitors ending on 181 all out.

Jamaica’s openers faltered early into the response, but captain Tamar Lambert and Donovan Pagan steadied things to guide the champions to 36 for two when play ended an over early due to fading light.

Whomever taught Miller to be courteous to his guests never did a good job, as the left-hander showed them no respect, was virtually unplayable and mesmerised everyone save for tough guy Lewis, whose unbeaten 82 came off 170 balls in 189 minutes with 11 fours and two sixes.

Sent to bat on a dark pitch shaved of grass cleaner than Kojak’s head, and overcast conditions lingering, the Windwards openers Devon Smith and Tyrone Theophille did everything to prove Lambert wrong for inserting them.

The two looked comfortable against opening bowlers Andrew Richardson and David Bernard Jnr in posting 50 for the stand, until Miller, who replaced Richardson from the Old Harbour Road end, began to taunt the Windwards.

Smith (19) fell to a spectacular catch by Xavier Marshall at forward short leg, a full-blooded drive that Marshall held onto while taking evasive action.

The Miller show stepped up a gear soon after, as Dominican Theophille on his debut, drove straight to Richardson at mid on with the score 53, the same score that Milller got Andre Fletcher to guide the next delivery, the first ball he faced, into Marshall’s hands at short leg.

At 53 for three, the Windwards looked to captain Darren Sammy as the messiah. But Sammy too was outfoxed by Miller, falling for five when the ball rolled onto his wicket as he tried to flick the left-armer.

At lunch the Windwards were embarrassingly placed on 68 for four, Miller taking four for 10 off 10 overs.

Immediately after the break, wrist spinner Odean Brown removed number three batsman Keddy Lesporis for 10, as the Windwards slipped further down the slope on 69 for five, forcing Lewis the former captain to reduce the frequency of the procession to the dressing room.

While wickets fell around him, Lewis, who was dropped on 18 by wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh off Brown (two for 65) when the score reached 98 for five, bloomed like a rare rose as he stroked the ball around the ground with disdain.

Lewis, who reached his 50 in 130 minutes off 120 balls with 10 fours and a six, tore into Richardson who was brought back from the Old Harbour Road end, hitting the tall pacer for three fours in one over, followed by another four and a six in Richardson’s next.

Miller in the meantime, switched to the south and trapped Lindon James for two to achieve the five-wicket haul, shortly after Brown accounted for Liam Sebastien through a neat catch at slip by Parchment for 12.

Miller, who took 38 wickets from seven matches in last year’s competition, hit Kenroy Peters in front for Antiguan umpire Clancy Mack to raise the index finger and had last man Nelon Pascal caught by Bernard.

Pascal shattered Brenton Parchment’s stumps with a telling yorker to leave Jamaica on eight for one, and swing bowler Peters sent back Marshall, played on for two, but Lambert and Pagan stood their ground to prevent further loss.

Scoreboard

Windward Islands (first innings)

D Smith c Marshall b Milller 19

T Theophille c Richardson b Miller 26

R Lesporis c Parchment b Brown 10

A Fletcher c Marshall b Miller 0

D Sammy b Miller 5

R Lewis not out 82

L Sebastien c Parchment b Brown 12

L James lbw Miller 2

S Shillingford run out 16

K Peters lbw Miller 0

N Pascal c Bernard b Miller 0

Extras: (lb3, nb1, pen runs 5) 9

TOTAL: (all out) 181

Wickets fell at: 1-50, 2-53, 3-53, 4-59, 5-69, 6-107, 7-115, 8-158, 9-166

Bowling: Richardson 8-1-42-0; Bernard 11-0-32-0 (nb1); Miller 26.1-14-28-7; Nash 2-1-1-0; Brown 26-7-65-2; Parchment 1-0-5-0.

Jamaica (first innings)

B Parchment b Pascal 8

X Marshall b Peters 2

D Pagan not out 9

T Lambert not out 16

Extras: (w1) 1

TOTAL: (for two wickets) 36

Wickets fell at: 1-8, 2-10

Bowling: Pascal 4-0-23-1; Peters 5-2-11-1 (1w); Sammy 2-2-0-0; Shillingford 1-0-2-0; Lewis 1-0-0-0.

Toss: Jamaica

Umpires: Vincent Bullen, Clancy Mack