JAMAICA won their sixth consecutive Regional Blind Cricket title with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) at Up Park Camp yesterday.

Trinidad and Tobago made 262-7 from their allotted 40 overs, but captain Loshane Myles cracked 125 not out as Jamaica raced to 264-1 with 5.3 overs remaining.

The regional 40-over competition was contested by three teams in host Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados for the Iroy Johnson trophy.

Jamaica had defeated Barbados also by nine wickets in their first game to finish on top eight points ahead of T&T with four and Barbados pointless.

Jamaica won the inaugural tournament in 2006 and have not looked back since, winning every year for their sixth regional title.

Vivalyn Latty-Scott, chairman of Jamaica Visually Impaired Cricket Association (JAVICA), told the Observer that the hard work paid off.

“They played well and carefully. We are very proud of our team… to have won six consecutive championships is something to be proud of. We can’t be doing this forever,” she noted.

“But overall a lot of hard work has been put into this championship. We invested in the players, we put them into camps and it was difficult because we didn’t have much time,” said Latty-Scott.

In Blind Cricket, there are three different categories of players according to their level of blindness: B1 (totally blind), B2 (partially blind) and B3 (partially sighted).

A minimum of four B1 players must be in the team and they are required to field close to the bat and their runs count as double. They usually have a runner and also if they take a catch on the bounce it is out.

The ball is a white moulded plastic with steel ball bearings inside to make it rattle and easy to hear and there are three keys words: Ready, Yes, Play before every ball is bowl, especially to a B1 player.

In front of a small gathering which is more than what normally turns up for a local Super League cricket match, Trinidad and Tobago were asked to take first strike and they made 262-7 from their allotted 40 overs with Rodney Ramrattan, a B3 player, top scoring with 67 with five fours. Opener Adrian Ragoonanan, a B2 player, contributed 64.

Jamaica, who also defeated Barbados easily in their first match, did likewise racing to 264-1 with skipper Myles, a B3 player, who appeared to be seeing the ball as big as a breadfruit, hit a masterful 125 not out with eight fours from 103 balls.

Myles, who made 53 not out against Barbados, put on 141 with fellow B2 opener Gregory Stewart, who made 54. B1 player Jason Ricketts, who is totally blind, hit 50 not out and shared in a 123-run partnership with Myles, taking Jamaica safely to victory.

The three teams will now turn their attention to the T20 tournament, which is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Jamaica continue their dominance of regional cricket competitions following the senior team’s triumph in the four-day format and the Under-15s a few days ago.