AN impressive seven-wicket haul by leg-spinner Damion Jacobs piloted Jamaica Franchise Team to an intriguing 13-run victory over Windward Island Volcanoes on day three of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-Day Tournament at Sabina Park yesterday.

In a game that seemed all but over for the Jamaicans, Jacobs stepped up big to grab his second best career figures of seven for 72 from 29.2 overs, which included eight maidens to give the host their first victory of the 10-round long tournament.

The Jamaicans, resuming their second innings from an overnight score of 147 for nine, were eventually dismissed early for 162. The Windwards were very comfortable in their second innings heading into the luncheon interval as Devon Smith (74) and Tyrone Theophille (40) took them to the break at 88 without loss, chasing a victory target of 261.

However, the Jamaicans got the breakthrough when Theophille was brilliantly caught at mid-off by David Bernard Jr to give Jacobs his first scalp. The game was levelled heading into the evening session as the Windwards lost their next five wickets for 101 runs and slumped to 178 for six.

A stubborn 65-run seventh-wicket stand between captain Liam Sebastian (24) and Alston Bobb (39) swung the game back in their favour and frustrated the Jamaican bowlers. But Jacobs came up big once more when he trapped Sebastian in front, and that turned out to be the game changer as the Jamaicans surged to victory by grabbing the last three Windward wickets for just four runs.

Nikita Miller, two for 21, and Bernard Jr, one for 20, were the other wicket takers.

Bobb was named Man of the Match for his overall figures of 11 wickets for 93, followed up by a total of 75 runs in both innings with the bat.

Jamaica’s coach Junior Bennett gave credit to the team for an expert bowling performance, but expressed disappointment with the batting.

“It was a very good game of cricket, I did not bat well in both innings and that is the reason why it came down to this. But credit to the Windward Islands team, I thought they played a very good game of cricket, but overall our bowling unit stuck to the task and got the job done,” he said.

Meanwhile, Liam Sebastian expressed disappointment with his team’s performance.

“Obviously (I am) disappointed to lose the game, looking back at it we [are] disappointed with ourselves (as) we should have won the game,” he lamented.

The Jamaica Franchise team will travel to Barbados tomorrow for their second-round contest against the Barbados Pride Franchise, which bowls off on Friday.