A trio of Leeward Island players combined yesterday at the Melbourne Cricket ground in Kingston to ensure that Canada smelt not a whiff of victory in the 2003 Red Stripe Bowl.

Runako Morton and Omari Banks thundered half centuries and the unlikely Tonito Willett, bowling a lively and swinging medium-pace, bundled the North Americans out for 180 when they appeared as though they were going to go down with a fight. They eventually fell short of the Leeward’s 265 for 7 by 85 runs.

Morton, opening the batting, reeled off from the start and never let up in rushing to 82 from 120 balls. Though he faced a number of deliveries from which he scored no runs, rarely did Morton play any defensive shots, always looking for runs as he appeared determined to end the competition with a triple figure score.

The tall right-hander, who played four one-day matches for the West Indies launched into the Canadian opening bowlers with five fours and two sixes as he put on 45 runs in eight overs with his opening partner Alex Adams (24), then stayed with Banks for 19 overs as they took the score from 97 for three to 187 when Morton went, 18 short of his ton.

Banks, played a subordinate role during the partnership, but just as the 50 overs were running out, he banged boundary after boundary in ensuring that 51 runs came from the last five overs. The lanky West Indies all-rounder ended unbeaten on 77 from 80 balls with three sixes and four fours to get the Leeward’s up to the second highest total in the Zone A following Jamaica’s 281.

Sunil Dhaniram, the left-arm spinner from Berbice, did his best to contain the two, allowing only 21 runs from his 10 overs but the opening pair of Austin Codrington (5-0-42-0) and Ashish Patel (8-1-50-1) were the ones to suffer most of the ball beating. Zahid Hussain, another spinner, got two wickets but for 41 runs from 10 overs.

Canada started their reply with audacity, getting up to 90 for two in quick time. Asif Mulla and Don Maxwell put on 60 runs for the second wicket after captain Ishwar Maraj fell for nine at 30 for 1. Mulla, who stroked an enterprising 66 from 113 balls, scored the second half-century for his country in the competition while the hard hitting Maxwell followed his 65 against Jamaica with 31 from 41 balls.

When Mulla fell at 149 for five, Willett closed shop immediately. After getting Mulla caught at long-on by Chaka Hodge (149 for 5), Willett trapped Abdool Samad LBW for 2 and then bowled Umar Bhatti and Hussain for second ball ducks to leave the Canadians at 150 for 8. Three of the wickets fell in the 38th over which was also a maiden.

Two overs later Willett, got one to keep low on Kevin Sandher and he too went by the LBW route. At that time his figures read five wickets for two runs from three overs but he eventually finished with five wickets for 19 runs from seven overs. Banks, Adams, Elsroy Powell and debutant medium pacer Steve Liburd each took one wicket but all were expensive as the Canadians initially shared some licks. Powell’s three overs cost 31 runs while Liburd’s 2.4 cost 20.

Canada lost all four of their games while the Leeward’s won two and lost the other two. Today big guns Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, both already in the semi-finals, square off at Sabina Park in the final preliminary match of Zone A.