JAMAICA counted heavily on two English gentlemen with surnames Duckworth and Lewis to save them from regional limited-over cricket embarrassment yesterday, but in the end rain overruled any hopes that the hosts had of going forward and Jamaica now stand condemned to miss out on a semi-final spot in the West Indies regional 50-over competition.

The Sabina Park fixture against Trinidad & Tobago ended in a no-result, which left the much touted hosts in noman’s land with two points from two matches, trailing surprise leaders the Windward Islands with maximum eight from two, and T&T six from two.

The Duckworth/Lewis system used to decide matches in instances of disruption was never allowed to click in, as the match did not get up to the required number of overs for the calculations to become relevant.

Trinidad & Tobago had not been experiencing rain in a manner in which Jamaica were in recent weeks, and opted to take no chances when they won the toss in their second round Group A match by opting to bat on a dry pitch, the same one used for the match between victors Barbados and the Leeward Islands 24 hours earlier.

They posted a competitive 225 all out off 49.5 overs, a total that, in the context of Caribbean cricket was good to go, and the former champions in chase, after two interruptions and a delayed start to the innings were stuck on 45 for two after 10.4 overs when the umpires decided that any further play would be impossible.

As a 50-over match cannot be decided until after the completion of 20 overs in the final innings, Jamaica were left to lap their tails and hope for a virtual miracle, which must mean a handsome victory over the Combined Colleges and Campuses tomorrow and an equally impressive performance by the Windward Islands over T&T on the same day.

The defending champions were given an early lifeline when opener Lendl Simmons was floored by Xavier Marshall off the improving Krismar Santokie’s bowling in the lefthanded seamer’s first over, which allowed T&T to build a spirited opening stand of 52.

West Indies players Simmons (26) and Adrian Barath (32) set up T&T for good things to follow, as the victors moved steadily along, despite a middleorder hiccup that saw them slip from 52 without loss to 94 for four, following the departure of Simmons, Darren Bravo for six, captain Darren Ganga for 15 all to David Bernard Jnr, and Barath for 32 to left-handed spinner Nikita Miller.

The experienced Dwayne Bravo with four fours and a six in his 43 from 59 balls steadied the innings in a fifth-wicket stand with Kieron Pollard worth 53, that pushed Jamaica on the back foot.

Pollard with a run-a-ball 28 became the first of Santokie’s three victims, hitting wicket in the 36th over and even after Bravo’s innings ended with the total 171 for six, T&T still had more ammunition.

Wicketkeeper/batsman Dinesh Ramdin with a 100 per cent strike rate in his innings of 43 not out, ensured that T&T would be able to put up a fight in guiding the tail to a position from which they could fight.

Jamaica, playing without Marlon Samuels, out with a knee injury and following an initial rain delay, started disastrously with the loss of opener Marshall off the fifth ball of the innings for a predictable zero.

The man who has West Indies Test and one-day experience, again guided a ball, this time from Ravi Rampaul to Dwayne Bravo at first slip, raising more questions about his suitability for any form of regional cricket.

When captain Chris Gayle fell leg before wicket to legspinner Samuel Badree for seven at 28 for two in the sixth over, the decision forced many, including Gayle himself to wonder if Antiguan umpire Clancy Mack needed to make an appointment with the optician. However, a television replay not being used in the match showed that Mack had made the right decision.

Danza Hyatt, 27 not out from 34 balls, and Brendan Nash, five not out off his 12 deliveries faced, were forced to wake up from their dream of a productive partnership that would have propelled Jamaica to victory, when the rain dumped buckets of water on the facility at 2:45 pm, and in a nagging way sentenced Jamaica to an extended term of disappointment, when umpires called off the match at 4:50 pm.