A cricket team manager described how he was taken hostage in his car by a group of men who beat and robbed him.

Tareek Somner, of the Bailey's Bay club, told Magistrates' Court that seven men approached him as he left the venue early on April 25, 2009.

Three jumped in his car and, according to Mr. Somner, "begged" for a lift to Hamilton. He obliged but they turned violent during the journey and, along with 'three or four' others following on motorbikes, attacked him, stealing his wallet and BlackBerry.

"Before I knew it I was punched in the face and knocked to the ground for awhile, getting kicked and beaten. I was on the ground trying to protect my head. I could just feel feet coming from everywhere," he told the court.

One of two men charged over the attack, Jahkiel Samuels, 24, of Pembroke, denies robbery and assault. However, Mr. Somner, 28, alleges he was the "ringleader" of the group.

Testifying in Samuels' trial yesterday, Mr. Somner explained that he and members of the Bailey's Bay team were working behind the bar at the club that night. There were few people around when he left at around 3 a.m. after cleaning up.

The group halted his progress as he left the car park and "begged" him for a lift to town. When he told them he was only going home to Crawl, they asked him to take them there instead. At this point, one of them opened an unlocked rear door of the car and three of them got in.

"They said 'take us (to) Crawl, so I figured I would proceed to Crawl'," explained Mr. Somner. "There were three or four guys on bikes behind."

When he stopped at the Dub City store in Hamilton Parish, the men told him "you've got to take us the f**k to town," so he headed in that direction but pulled in at Burchall's Cove and got out of his car.

"I said 'look, if you guys want me to take you to town then give me some money' because they had told me back at Bailey's Bay they would give me some money to go to town," explained Mr. Somner. He claimed then that all the men, including those following on motorbikes, launched the attack which caused him to suffer bruising to his face and foot.

"I pleaded to them and said 'stop, I'll take you to town' and I managed to get up," he explained. He got back in the car and drove the trio to Court Street speeding there in order to shake off the remaining men who were still following on motorbikes.

Mr. Somner explained that when he finally got home around 4 a.m., he realised his $500 BlackBerry was missing from his pocket along with his wallet containing his bank cards and $37 cash.

He told the court he recognised Samuels from encountering him at bars in Hamilton in particular the Ozone nightclub where he worked as a bouncer between 2004 and 2007.

He described him as the person the rest of the robbers "looked up to," and said he sat in the front passenger seat of his car during the incident.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that "identification is very much an issue" in the case. Cross-examining Mr. Somner who is blind in his left eye she suggested he did not get a good view of the passenger to his left.

He denied this, telling Ms Christopher: "I know exactly who sat in the passenger seat."

Asked by Ms Christopher why he did not remark that he recognised Samuels during the attack, Mr. Somner replied: "I was pretty much held hostage. I didn't want to say much."

The trial is due to continue next week. Before it began yesterday, Samuels' co-accused, Troy Burgess, 21, of Pembroke, pleaded guilty to robbing and assaulting Mr. Somner. According to Crown Counsel Cindy Clarke, Burgess's fingerprints were found on the rear offside door of the victim's car.

Burgess is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for a home invasion in June 2009 that saw the householder bludgeoned with a bottle and robbed of $13,600-worth of cash and personal items. Burgess was on bail for the attack on Mr. Somner at the time.

Yesterday, Mr. Tokunbo handed him an additional two years in prison for robbing and assaulting Mr. Somner, although it will run consecutive to the term he is currently serving.