The hunt continues! - Jamaica seek third straight victory in WICB four-day tourney

BY SANJAY MYERS Observer staff reporter myerss@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The confident Jamaica team will aim for three wins in as many matches when it faces cellar outfit Leeward Islands at Sabina Park in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day tournament, starting today at 10:00 am.

The Junior Bennett-coached Jamaicans, who are seeking a record fifth straight domestic first-class championship, have so far beaten the Windward Islands and Barbados.

Conversely the Leeward Islands suffered humiliating losses to both Guyana and the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC).

Though Jamaica are highly favoured to come out on top, vice-captain David Bernard Jnr told the Observer that the team is not taking the opponents lightly.

"We have been the defending champions for four reasons running and all the teams seem to lift their game when they play against us. We don't take our opponents for granted. We go into each game to execute the plans that we formulate to the best of our ability," he said after a team practice session yesterday.

When the teams met in the preliminary stage last season at Warner Park in St Kitts, Jamaica romped to a comfortable 10-wicket victory. Bernard, who has had an ordinary start to this campaign, shone with bat and ball in that encounter.

He added: "We are feeling pretty confident as a team that has been preparing well and we look to continue our winnings ways. The last time I played against them at Warner Park I had a good all-round game, so hopefully a performance like that can kick-start my season."

Jamaica will rely on captain Tamar Lambert, who has shown good form with the bat, as well as Donovan Pagon, Danza Hyatt and left-hander Brendan Nash.

Spinners Nikita Miller and Odean Brown, along with seamers Andrew Richardson, Bernard and left-armer Sheldon Cotterell are likely to carry the bowling burden. Miller, who took 10 wickets in the match against the Bajans, and Cotterell have been in impressive form.

Leewards head coach Stuart Williams said that his team will "compete" and insisted that they cannot do any worse than they did in the previous two matches.

"We have four more games to go... so we can still have a chance to qualify (for the semi-final stage). I don't think we can get much lower than this so the only way is up. We came here to play cricket and we came here to compete.

"In those matches we batted badly and we perhaps lacked a bit of confidence. We had a couple in-house meetings and we had some net sessions, so hopefully we get things together because it is a young team and we are in transition," he said.

The team is captained by 27-year-old Gavin Williams, who made his four-day debut in 2010. The Antiguan batsman has played nine first-class matches and has one century to his name.

Despite the presence of a number of youthful players, the Leewards team possesses players with senior West Indies experience. Spinner Anthony Martin, pacer Gavin Tonge, wicketkeeper/batsman Devon Thomas and left-handed opener Kieran Powell have all played for the regional team.

Tall off-spinner Justin Athanaze could also pose problems on what is likely to be a spinner-friendly Sabina Park pitch.

The Sabina batting square has a reputation for offering decent pace and bounce for the faster bowlers, especially on the second and third days. So far this season the slow bowlers have benefited from plenty of spin and bounce from as early as the opening day.

Jamaica squad — Tamar Lambert (capt), Danza Hyatt, Simon Jackson, Donovan Pagon, Brendan Nash, David Bernard, Carlton Baugh, Nikita Miller, Andrew Richardson, Odean Brown, Sheldon Cotterell, Brenton Parchment, Jamie Merchant.

Leewards Squad — Gavin Williams (capt), Kieran Powell, Montcin Hodge, Javia Liburd, Devon Thomas, Tonito Willett, Justin Athanaze, Jahmar Hamilton, Anthony Martin, Gavin Tonge, Nelson Bolan, Hayden Walsh, Jason Campbell.

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The hunt continues! - Jamaica seek third straight victory in WICB four-day tourney