Nikita Miller, the Melbourne CC captain, was thrilled after his team held its composure to inflict a 73-run defeat on St Thomas CA at Sabina Park on the weekend, to claim their first Senior Cup cricket title since 2012.

He said there was noticeable progress made by Melbourne after an inauspicious start to the season. He said eliminating 2014 and 2015 champions Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) in the quarter-finals was a major lift for his team.

It was particularly significant for Melbourne since, for the closing stages of the season, they were without ace wrist spinner Damion Jacobs, who was said to have been overseas.

“The season went well and I believe that the JDF game kind of turned it for us. Once you get rid of the defending champions [it is a boost] because it’s very difficult to get the better of a team like that,” the Melbourne skipper told the Jamaica Observer in a post-match interview yesterday.

Miller and his left-arm spin bowling partner Christopher Lamont both took eight wickets in the low-scoring, but entertaining final match against St Thomas.

Melbourne held their nerve to restrict their opponents for 156 in the second innings, as they chased 230 runs for victory.

The Melbourne pair of Andre McCarthy and left-hander Trevon Griffith struck half-centuries in the first innings. In their second innings, lower order batsman Omar Allison made a back-to-the-wall half-century to ensure they had a defendable total.

And though St Thomas battled with the bat, particularly through a partnership of 73 runs for the sixth wicket between Carlton Baugh and Jamie Trenchfield, Melbourne were able to prevail quite comfortably in the end.

“We knew St Thomas would come at us, but all we needed was a [second-innings] score of over 100 and we knew we’d be in the game. I felt Omar Allison’s innings set the tone for us to get that score in the second innings.

“He played aggressively, he played smart, and got us to the total that we defended. I think that was key, and the guys showed a level of confidence and calm under pressure to deal with that situation of Carlton and Trenchfield.

“That partnership, we spoke about it before we came out [after the tea break] — that once we got rid of one of the batsmen we’d be in, because all that was left were the bowlers,” Miller explained.

Due to illness, Miller did not feature for Melbourne until the quarter-final stage. In his absence, the St Andrew-based club scrapped bravely throughout the preliminary phase to finish second behind St Thomas in Zone D.

“I think we had a bad start because the first game against Portland CA was rained out and we didn’t get much from that game. Then we played against St Thomas and we lost first- innings points. We gradually picked it up afterwards and we had some vital introduction to the team,” Miller said.

He noted that United States’s left-hand batsman Steven Taylor, who was drafted for Barbados Tridents, and Guyanese Griffith, who plays for Jamaica Scorpions, were important additions to the Melbourne set-up.

The skipper acknowledged that his return to the team was also significant in Melbourne CC winning their first two-day crown since 2012, and 25th overall.