Adams hits unbeaten 103, Leewards win

SALEM, Montserrat: Alex Adams completed his maiden first-class century as the Leeward Islands predictably swept aside the West Indies “B” before lunch on the final day of their fifth round Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series match at Salem Park yesterday.

At the end, the Leeward Islands reached the required victory target of 227 for the loss of three wickets in just under an hour batting with Man of the Match Adams not out on 103 and Stuart Williams on 90 in an unfinished 156-run fourth-wicket stand. Needing 53 runs for victory at the start of play, opener Adams and his captain Williams scored the runs without any further loss from their overnight score of 174 for three. Adams hit two towering sixes and 12 fours in reaching the coveted landmark in 250 minutes off 169 balls, and Williams had belted 11 fours and two sixes when the end came with him 10 short of a hundred. With Adams resuming on 82 and the skipper 62, and not enough runs available for both to complete centuries, Adams eventually began to stroke the ball around the ground, after a nervous start. Once in the nineties, he displayed the nervousness of someone who had never completed a century but overcame his jitters and struck Shane Jeffers high over extra cover to reach the milestone. The Leewards climbed to 34 points with the win for second spot in the standings, 14 behind leaders Barbados (48), entering their crucial sixth round match against the Barbadians on Friday at the Kensington Oval. West Indies “B” will be facing the Windward Islands in Dominica.