Trinidad & Tobago’s opener Lendl Simmons hit a battling 79 runs, but his team remains 85 runs shy of taking first innings honours against title-holders Jamaica on yesterday’s rain-curtailed day two of the Regional four-day semi-final match at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Trinidad & Tobago reached 162-6 in reply to the Jamaica’s 246 before persistent showers halted proceedings nine minutes before the scheduled 2:40 pm tea interval and ultimately wiped out the entire final session.

Shortly after 5:00 pm, the umpires ruled that no further play was possible on an absorbing day of patient cricket.

Heading into today, the game appears finely balanced, but a clutter of Trinidad wickets in the post-lunch session gave the five-time defending champions a minor advantage.

Scores: Jamaica 246 (80.5 overs); Trinidad & Tobago 162-6 (63.1 overs).

Today’s action is set to start at 9:30 am — 30 minutes earlier than usual — to make up for time lost yesterday.

The not out batsmen for Trinidad & Tobago are debutant left-hander Akeal Hosein, who has played some crisp shots in his knock of 24 and all-rounder Imran Khan, who is on six.

Simmons’ knock was at the heart of Trinidad’s resistance yesterday as he curbed his usual abundantly attacking style, while hammering 10 fours and a six off 158 balls — including a sweetly-timed loft off left-arm spinner Nikita Miller that landed beyond the ropes wide of long-on.

However, the skilful spinner exacted revenge moments before the rain took the spotlight when he trapped the 28-year-old batsman leg before wicket prodding forward to a full-pitched delivery.

Miller, 30, ended the day with best figures of 3-39 off 19 overs and a ball to take his season’s wicket tally to a phenomenal 49.

Jamaica’s captain Tamar Lambert said the four wickets in the second session, including that of Simmons was crucial, on a day two Sabina Park pitch that, though producing the odd ball that kept a tad low, seemed decent for batting.

“We have to come tomorrow (today) and try and get the remaining wickets. We picked up those four wickets in the session and that was good. At that time it was a big wicket (of Simmons) and Nikita really bowled well,” Lambert said.

Simmons, who was hitting his 22nd first-class fifty, told reporters that Jamaica “bowled well”, while expressing regret he wasn’t able to “push on” to a bigger score. He, however, remained hopeful that the rest of the batting can take Trinidad to first innings advantage.

Earlier, the visitors, who previously took the four-day title in the 2005-06 season, resumed from their overnight 17-1 and progressed comfortably to 73, thanks to a diligent 64-run partnership between Simmons and 20-year-old left-hander Yannic Cariah.

Cariah, who batted solidly and patiently for 26 runs, was eventually outdone by a steeply bouncing delivery from leg-spinner Odean Brown that nipped high on the bat and flew to Brenton Parchment at slip.

Brown almost had two wickets in quick succession, but he failed to hold onto a difficult chance when Simmons, then on 44, cannoned an aerial drive that burst through the bowler’s hands.

The 20-year-old Stephen Katwaroo, who made two half-centuries earlier in the season, was instead the next man out for only two at 86-3. He was hit in front of the stumps, ill-advisedly playing back to Miller’s delivery that skidded on straight.

Jason Mohammed (0) went with only five added to the total. He was clean bowled from Andrew Richardson’s delivery that did not bounce as the batsman expected.

Trinidad’s captain Denesh Ramdin (8) looked an unsettled man from the start of his innings and he did not last long as he backed away, attempting a back-foot shot and was bowled by Miller’s straight ball.

Before getting off the mark, Ramdin was left stranded down the pitch attempting a wild slog at another craftily bowled Miller delivery, but Jamaica’s wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh missed the stumping chance.

Simmons and Hosein stabled the innings somewhat with a brief resistance, however the irrepressible Miller plotted the former’s demise and gave Jamaica a slight momentum heading into day three.

Scoreboard

JAMAICA 1st Innings

B Parchment c wkp Ramdin b Richards 5

D Hyatt lbw b Khan 21

N Bonner c Mohammed b Richards 3

A McCarthy lbw b Richards 1

*T Lambert c wkp Ramdin b Emrit 38

D Bernard Jr run out 18

+C Baugh Jr not out 88

N Miller run out 21

A Richardson lbw b Richards 0

O Brown c wkp Ramdin b Richards 0

S Cotterell lbw b Khan 44

Extras (lb6, nb1) 7

TOTAL (all out. 80.5 overs) 246

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-13, 3-17, 4-49, 5-87, 6-87, 7-130, 8-143, 9-143, 10-246.

Bowling: Gabriel 12-3-43-0, Richards 17.2-1-46-5 (nb1), Emrit 15-0-46-1, Simmons 2-1-5-0, Khan 21.5-3-53-2, Hosein 10.1-4-39-0, Cariah 2-0-8-0.

T&T 1st Innings

(overnight 17 for one)

L Simmons lbw b Miller 79

J Solozano run out 1

Y Cariah c Parchment b Brown 26

S Katwaroo lbw b Miller 2

J Mohammed b Richardson 0

*+D Ramdin b Miller 8

A Hosein not out 24

I Khan not out 6

Extras (b9, lb5, w1, nb1) 16

TOTAL (6 wkts, 63.1 overs) 162

To bat: R Emrit, S Gabriel, M Richards.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-73, 3-86, 4-91, 5-118, 6-145.

Bowling: Richardson 10-2-47-1, Cotterell 14-4-28-0, Bernard 7-2-9-0, Brown 13-4-25-1. Miller 19.1-4-39-3.

Position: T&T trail by 84 runs with three wickets intact.

Toss: Jamaica.

Umpires: G Brathwaite, N Duguid.