Ricardo Powell bull-rushed the weak Canadian bowling attack for 71 crushing and unbeaten runs yesterday at the Port Esquivel Ground as he led Jamaica in inflicting the third consecutive trouncing on Canada in Zone A of this year’s Red Stripe Bowl.

Canada surprised about 2000 cricket fans at the Port Esquivel ground yesterday by conquering the formidable Jamaican bowling attack for a competitive, if inadequate, 196 for 7 from their quota of 50 overs. For a batting line-up with four current West Indies batsmen and another who has played Test cricket, 196 was at least 100, if not 200, runs too few for Canada to even begin dreaming of a victory.

Jamaica raced to 198 for four with 21 overs still to come as Powell along with Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels caned the attack like old-time headmasters scolding delinquent, misbehaving schoolboys.

Powell, though not as accomplished as the other West Indies batsmen in the Jamaica team is a local hero of sorts across Jamaica. Anytime he walks to the wicket the crowd, no matter the size, erupts into prolonged chants of “Pow Pow! Pow Pow!” Yesterday was no different and his admirers clapped, hooted and jollied themselves to the pulsating batting he showcased.

Powell, joining the action at the fall of Hinds’ wicket at 68 for 3, flogged the North Americans with tremendous big hitting for four sixes and six fours which mostly reached the boundary after only bouncing once. The Canadians did have two chances to take him out though, and spilled both before he had reached his half century.

Had Kevin Sandher and Asif Mulla latched on to the relatively easy catches at cover and long on it would have hardly made much difference, since there were several quality batsmen still to come.

One quality batsman in West Indies opener Chris Gayle made 15 while rookie opener Brentnol Parchment had his middle stump uprooted from the first ball he faced, bowled by Asish Patel (2 for 55) in the first over.

Powell shovelled his way to the second highest individual Jamaican total in the tournament so far, from a mere 55 balls even as he suffered from dehydration which caused him to vomit on-field.

Before he tore into the Canadian attack, missing restrictive left-arm spinner Sunil Dhaniram through a thigh injury, Samuels and Hinds had helped themselves to easy runs, but in different styles. Hinds, faced 30 balls and sent most of them way overhead as he tormented the bowlers for 45 runs scored from heavy-handed brute force.

Samuels, stroked the ball with his usual flair and immaculate timing to get close to what would have been his second half century in a week,` having made a lusty 72 against Leewards in Jamaica’s first game. The slick right-hander fell two short as a mild full toss was mis-timed to Austin Codrington on the backward square-leg boundary.

Both Hinds and Samuels made the bulk of their runs from six fours and one six each.

When the two were done, Powell came solidly to the fore and hunted the bowlers to hurriedly bring the match to an end by callously hitting medium-pacer Patel for two consecutive fours and a six which went a long way over long-off into the nearby car park.

When the Canadians opted to bat first after calling the toss right, fast bowler Andrew Richardson making his debut for Jamaica, did not impress immediately, but always bowled with pace to end with decent figures of 1 for 31 from ten overs.

With one of the Canadian openers gone at 21, Don Maxwell and the other opener, captain Ishwar Maraj combined for a bolstering partnership of 93 to push the score up to 114 as the bowlers short- pitched without limit.

Maxwell punished Richardson, Daren Powell and David Bernard for pitching short and into his body. The big Barbadian born batsman, stood tall on his back foot and delivered five mighty sixes, all between square leg and long on as he compiled his dictating 65. Maxwell spent 85 balls, five of which were dispatched to the ropes for four in posting the first half-century for Canada in the tournament.

Maraj the stylish left hander cut and drove, mostly straight to ensure that the Canadian score attained a level of decency which was previously lost. Ashish Bagai, the little effervescent wicket- keeper then sliced and diced his way to 33 not out at the end to push the Canadian total close to 200.

Pacer Darren Powell, bowling with renewed confidence and hostility finished with two for 37 while wily off-spinner Gareth Breese had two for 22 from seven. Samuels, Richardson and Gayle took one wicket each with Gayle bowling Codrington with the last ball of the match.

No matter how inspirational the Canadian coach, Andre Coley’s speech was at the interval, they could not have reasonably expected the powerhouse Jamaican batting to not attain the modest total. Their shoulders drooped and their spirits floundered as they left the field in stinging sunshine at 4 o’clock when the match had already ended.