A five-wicket haul from national fast bowler, Jason Dawes, guided Kensington Cricket Club to an impressive seven-wicket win over Melbourne in their feature Jamaica Cricket Association 50-over Zone D clash at Kensington Park at the weekend.
Dawes, a former West Indies Under-19 standout, claimed five for 18 to help bowl out the fancied Melbourne for a paltry 96 inside 23.5 overs. He was supported by stand-in captain Ryan Francis, who took two for 20 off five overs with his part-time left-arm spin.
Dawes' wickets included three Jamaica representatives, batsman Andre McCarthy, captain Nikita Miller and leg-spinner Damion Jacobs, who made 18, 10 and one, respectively.
Kensington, in their reply, raced to their target at 97 for the loss of three wickets in the 24th over, with national batsman Cassius Burton top-scoring with an unbeaten 37.
It was Kensington's win first from two matches, after going down to neighbours Lucas by eight wickets in their first encounter.
"It's a great feeling to know that we were able to bounce back against one of the top clubs in the country," said Francis.
"The toss was important to us and ideally we won it and worked with the game plan we had in our team meeting, and it worked.
"We are now looking forward to our next game and looking to repeat a similar performance," he said.
Elsewhere in the zone, Kingston defeated Lucas by 179 runs at Sabina Park to lead the standings.
Kingston, who were recording their second win in as many matches, posted 256 for nine in 47 overs. In-form captain Brandon King, who scored 80 in Jamaica Scorpions' first four-day trial match last week, top-scored for the Tigers with 83.
Wicketkeeper Allan Roper, with an unbeaten 53, rcorded the second highest score against pacer Rushane Bird, four for 46 and teenager Raewin Senior, three for 42.
Former national youth all-rounder, Garth Garvey, then bagged an immaculate eight for 12 off six overs in helping to bundle out Kensingston for 77 inside 23 overs.