JOE Clarke hit 87 for England Lions on the final day of the three-day warm-up fixture with a Jamaica X1 at Sabina Park.

The Worcestershire batsman came in at number five for the nation's second string and struck 14 fours in a 115-ball knock than lasted three hours.

It was an ideal tonic for Clarke ahead of the opening four-day Test against West Indies A which begins on Sunday.

He came in at 59 for three and shared in stands of 56 with Dan Lawrence (35) and 76 with Ben Foakes (37).

Clarke’s innings grew in importance as the lower order struggled against Jamaica’s 28-year-old off-spinner Jamie Merchant, who ended with five wickets.

The last five fell for 39, four of them to Merchant, to leave the Jamaicans sniffing a victory as they chased 258. Clarke was last out with the total on 230.

Saqib Mahmood and Toby Roland-Jones shared the new ball with Jamie Porter judged ready for Sunday’s first Test after his impressive first innings performance.

But it was the change bowlers of Paul Coughlin and Jack Leach who shared the wickets as the Jamaicans closed on 131 for four. Coughlin (2-10) and Leach (2-31) had encouraging figures.

“It was a good three days for us,” said the Lions coach Andy Flower. “In almost all cases, the batters have had two innings each and the bowlers have had at least two decent spells.”