Seven Sixes and 168 Together: Jermaine Baker's Hundred Turns a George Town Evening Into a 131-Run Rout

The day after Bermuda's openers had put on an unbroken 149 against them, Cayman Islands' batters had one of their own at the Jimmy Powell Oval. Bahamas won the toss and chose to field. Cayman lost Sachin Diwangana in the fourth over, and after that Jermaine Baker and Bishal Kharty added 168 from 94 balls. Baker finished with 106 not out from 60 balls, including seven sixes, and Cayman made 215 for 3.

Bahamas never had a realistic chance of chasing that. They were bowled out for 84 in 18.3 overs, and Cayman Islands won by 131 runs. The second game of the evening's double-header, the tournament's 4th Match, was abandoned after the toss and ended as a no-result.

Cayman were 39 for 1 after 3.2 overs, which was a quick start but not yet a dominant one. Then Baker and Kharty batted for almost sixteen overs together. Kharty hit 83 from 46 balls, with four sixes, before Shawn Fowler had him caught by Orville Howell off the last ball of the 19th over. By then the score was 207. Baker, who had opened, was still there at the end: 13 boundaries, seven of them sixes, and a hundred from 60 balls.

Every one of Bahamas' eight bowlers went for more than five an over, and six of them went for ten or more. Gregory Taylor's single over cost 20. Damion Wint, Turan Brown and Everette Haven between them conceded 113 from ten overs.

Cayman's bowlers then made sure there was no fightback. Six bowlers each took at least one wicket, and Demar Johnson (4-0-9-2), Vick Dhaniram (4-0-11-2) and Diwangana (2-0-4-2) conceded 24 runs in ten overs between them. Diwangana followed his 19 from 11 balls with two wickets.

Bahamas' openers at least showed some intent. Marc Taylor hit 24 from 16 balls and Gregory Taylor 12 from 10, and they put on 35 in 22 balls. After that, the innings went downhill quickly: 39 for 2, 54 for 4 and 68 for 6. Nobody else passed 14, and the last four wickets fell for 16 runs. The decision to bowl first is easy to criticise with hindsight. The real problem was that Bahamas' bowling gave away more than ten an over, and after that the batting had nothing to play for except net run rate.

This was the most batting-friendly day of the tournament so far: 215 in the first innings, after totals of 113, 115, 143 and 149 in Wednesday's double-header. Once Baker and Kharty were set, they could hit through the line. Bahamas' collapse owed more to Cayman's disciplined bowling, and to the size of the target, than to any change in the pitch. The second match of the evening was abandoned after the toss, so there was no second chance for Bahamas that night.

Baker's 106 not out from 60 balls was the first hundred of the tournament and, with seven sixes, the most destructive innings of it so far. He opened, batted through all 20 overs, and took the innings from 39 for 1 to 215 for 3 with Kharty. It was an innings that turned a competitive game into a one-sided one.

We did not publish a preview for this fixture, so there is no call to grade. We'll have full analysis for the rest of the North America Cup.

Cayman Islands now have two wins, one defeat and one no-result from four matches, and a big net run rate boost from a 131-run margin. Bahamas and Bermuda play each other twice to finish the group stage, and then the 3rd-place play-off (September 26) and Final (September 27) follow, both at George Town. With Baker in this form, the hosts will be the side to beat in the knockouts. Unlock CricIntel Pro for more T20 analysis.