CAVE HILL, Barbados (CMC):

A penetrative opening spell from Andrew Richardson left Jamaica scenting victory against the Combined Campuses and Colleges, after their batsmen again let them down in the WICB regional four-day competition yesterday.

Richardson snared three wickets for 13 runs from eight overs, as the CCC, set 221 for victory, reached 103 for five in their second innings at the close on the third day in their third-round match at the Three Ws Oval.

Richardson removed Romel Currency for one, Nekoli Parris for the same score, and the CCC captain Simon Jackson for eight, as the home team crashed to 16 for three.

But Floyd Reifer scored 35 and Chadwick Walton made 30 before they were dismissed in the final hour, after they added 46 to stem the fall of wickets.

The Jamaicans, leading by 55 on first innings, had been dismissed for 165 in their second innings about half-hour before the rescheduled tea break.

Donovan Pagon hit the top score of 44 and Brenton Parchment got 42. They shared 69 for the second wicket, but no other Jamaican got past 20.

Khismar Catlin collected three for 31 from eight overs, Ryan Austin captured three for 48 from 23.4 overs and Kavesh Kantasingh took two for 57 from 23 overs.

Pitched delivery

But Richardson strengthened Jamaica's hand when he bowled Currency with a well-pitched delivery that moved back in the third over.

The tall, broad-shouldered fast bowler stuck again in his fourth over, when he gained a dubious lbw verdict over Parris.

In his next over, Richardson put Jamaica-born left-hander Jackson out of his misery, when he had him caught low down at third slip.

When Richardson took a well-deserved rest, Jamaica turned to an all-spin attack, but Chadwick Walton spent 45 minutes with Reifer repairing the damage.

But the Jamaicans continued to apply the pressure and Walton cracked when Odean Brown had him caught at backward point trying to hit inside-out over cover.

The visitors got a bonus before the close, when left-hander Reifer, a veteran of 17 seasons of first-class cricket, was adjudged lbw moving down and playing across a well-flighted delivery from Gavin Wallace, to leave the CCC on 89 for five.

Kevin McClean joined Omar Phillips and they batted through the final 20 minutes to push the match into a fourth day.

Delayed start

Earlier, the start was delayed by an hour, following overnight and early morning rain which left the outfield damp.

When play started, Parchment was fortunate, when on 25 he edged Kantasingh between 'keeper Walton and slip fielder Reifer for two.

The Jamaica opener looked quite solid until he tried to cut the short, wide first delivery from Jackson - bowling his modest leg-spin - and was caught behind about 10 minutes before lunch.

His dismissal left Jamaica 80 for two at lunch, but things fell apart for the Jamaicans after the interval.

It all started to unravel, when their captain Tamar Lambert ill-advisedly scooped a delivery from Austin and was caught low down at square leg for 12.

Brendan Nash was adjudged lbw for seven when he played back and across to Kantasingh and Pagon was bowled for 44 when he played on to leave Jamaica 125 for five.

Keith Hibbert joined Dave Bernard Jr and they stemmed the fall of wickets for the next half-hour, when they put together 22 for the sixth wicket. But Hibbert top-edged a sweep and was caught behind for 14, as the Jamaicans lost their last five wickets for 18 runs from 34 balls.