By Richard Bryan, Freelance WriterMANDEVILLE:
ST. ELIZABETH Technical chase a record 20th hold on the rural cricket Headley Cup, when they face perennial rivals Holmwood, starting at Chedwin Park this morning at 10:30.
Action will be centred around two innings play, lasting three days. First innings honours for either team will be enough to decide the contest if an outright result cannot be achieved.
The switch in venue to Chedwin Park from the more accustomed Alpart ground in Nain, St. Elizabeth, is considered significant especially for the Christiana-based Holmwood. This as their perennial challenge with STETHS has been reduced to a one-sided contest in the favour of the defending champions, who have won four of the last five times the final has been played between the two at Alpart.
In fact, Holmwood last tasted success against STETHS at Alpart in 1998 when current West Indies one-day player Ricardo Powell was captain.
Coach Robert Lewis told The Gleaner that he hopes that this change in venue will bring a more positive attitude from his players, especially in the batting department.
"If you have looked at our contests over the years, we have not been able to compete in the batting department. We have just not had enough quality in this area. In fact we have not produced a national Under-19 batsman in the last three years and that says a lot", said Lewis.
This year their hope appears centred on Donovan Sinclair, brother of national representative Matthew, who played on the winning 1998 team and who was the reserve wicket-keeper to Keith Hibbert in the just concluded Carib Beer Series.
Sinclair, who like his brother keeps wicket, has scored two centuries this season (5 overall in the Headley Cup), the last of which came in the semi-finals against Vere.
Others like David Powell, Uriel Samuels, Cadian McKenzie and Ziggy Levy who played on Jamaica's recent championship Under-15 side, are expected to figure prominently.
STETHS, whose coach Junior Bennett is in charge of the National Under-19, was as usual conservative and merely said:
"We expect to play good cricket and once we do that we should come out on top."
In their armoury are three national players who are likely to play the important role during the finals. The first is fast-bowler Jerome Taylor, who played on the senior Jamaica cricket team during the Carib Beer Series , the second is captain Shawn Findlay, this season's only double centurion who was a reserve batsman for the West Indies B team; and opener Zeniffe Fowler, who scored the only century for Jamaica's victorious team during the regional Under 15 Championship.
