TRELAWNY, England (CMC)

Tamar Lambert narrowly missed out on a century as Jamaica's progress was stymied by an incisive spell from left-arm seamer Kenroy Peters on the opening day of their 12th round WICB regional four-day match yesterday.

The right-handed Lambert struck a positive 93 that put Jamaica on course for a solid total, but Peters claimed four for 58 to reduce the hosts to 223 for nine at the close at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.

Jamaica collapsed

He was one of Peters' victims in a spell that saw four wickets tumble for 29 runs, as Jamaica collapsed from 148 for four to 177 for eight in the final session.

Peters started his rout by trapping David Bernard Jr lbw for nine and followed that up by also removing Lambert after the Jamaican captain had faced 168 balls, batting 311 minutes and striking 10 fours.

He then easily dispatched Bevon Brown (3) and Odean Brown (0) to leave the home side in disarray.

But wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh kept up his superb run of form with a solid, unbeaten 54 from 83 balls to anchor Jamaica's innings.

shaky start

Earlier, Jamaica got off to a shaky start after winning the toss, losing both openers cheaply to fast bowler Nelon Pascal, who finished the day with two for 57.

He first trapped Danza Hyatt for three with the score on seven before returning to breach Donovan Pagon's defence bowl him for 11, as Jamaica tottered at 16 for two.

Lambert and Test batsman Brendan Nash (18) steadied the ship with a 53-run, third-wicket stand before the left-hander was run out shortly after lunch with the score on 69.