TITLE-HOLDERS Jamaica ended with first innings points against former champions Trinidad & Tobago yesterday as both teams played to a draw on an intriguing final day of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four-day match at Sabina Park.

Jamaica’s captain Tamar Lambert and his Trinidadian counterpart Daren Ganga agreed to call off the match with five overs remaining in the day’s play and the visitors on 248 for five, still needing another 56 runs to win.

Out-of-favour West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin was unbeaten at that stage on 104, while Daren Ganga was with him on 11.

Middle-order batsman Jason Mohammed with a better than run-a-ball 56 was the chief orchestrator of Trinidad & Tobago’s impressive chase against a depleted Jamaican bowling attack. However, his dismissal at 209 for four and then that of Rayad Emrit just 14 runs later effectively ended their slim hopes of an outright win.

Trinidad and Tobago’s coach Kelvin Williams praised the efforts of both teams to make the match exciting, but said the loss of wickets stymied the momentum and left him with no potential big-hitters to snatch victory.

“It was always going to be difficult but I think we batted pretty well and Jason Mohammed did well, but we fell short in the last few overs. Both teams had a chance and we were hoping that we could have continued the momentum, but when the fifth wicket fell we gave up the chase,” he said.

Jamaica’s coach Augustine Logie was proud of his team’s effort, given that they were without the injured seam-bowling trio of Jerome Taylor, Andrew Richardson and David Bernard Jr for the second innings.

“I think we equipped ourselves very well and congrats to the skipper (Lambert) for giving the opportunity for Trinidad to chase a target that they felt was gettable with us not having three of our strike bowlers.

“It was an opportunity for both teams (to win) and we had hoped to get the better of them but they played very well and the pitch never offered the assistance that we would expect on a last day pitch. I think it (the pitch) played very well,” he said.

The loss of the trio meant Jamaica had to depend on part-timers Hinds, Lambert and Nash to support legspinner Odean Brown for the entire two sessions.

In the first innings, Trinidad & Tobago had posted 279 in reply to Jamaica’s 356 and the home team, resuming on 116 for three overnight, stretched the lead to 303 when they declared on 226 for five off 65 overs at the lunch break.

The stockily-built Lambert was top scorer with an authoritative unbeaten 61, while Nash (37) and first innings centurion, Hinds (26), chipped in with quick runs.

Chasing an imposing 304 in just two sessions, Trinidad & Tobago lost opener Tishan Maraj (4) early, which allowed Ramdin to stride to the wicket at number three.

The right-hander then shared in useful partnerships — first with Llendl Simmons (38), and Sherwin Ganga (15), to push T&T to 125 for three from 35 overs.

Jason Mohammed joined Ramdin and both proceeded to belt the bowlers to all corners of the part in a quickfire partnership of 84 for the fourth wicket. The two batsmen were particularly harsh on Nash, Lambert and Brown, as they unfurled a flurry of lofted drives both sides of the wicket.

After being dropped by Simon Jackson on 52, Mohammed added just four before Marlon Samuels took a neat catch running back from cover. Mohammed faced 55 balls and struck seven boundaries.

Ramdin, who also survived a difficult chance when substitute fielder Jermaine Jackson failed to hold at mid-wicket, went on to register his first century of the season and struck seven fours and two sixes off 140 balls.