By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorJAMAICA, WITH two victories in two matches take on Canada, two defeats in two starts, in the Red Stripe Bowl tournament at Port Esquivel today.
Barring what would be a stunning upset, it should be victory number three for Jamaica.
Favourites to win the title, Jamaica boast victories over the Leeward Islands XI and the Windward Islands and are bubbling with confidence. Canada, on the other hand, have lost to both the Windward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago and must be hurting.
On top of that, while Canada, blown away for 69 by the Windward Islands and for 112 by Trinidad and Tobago, do not possess an outstanding player, Jamaica, with a number of West Indies players in their line-up, plus a batsman like Brenton Parchment, are bursting with talent.
Looking at the Jamaica team, the batting has been Christopher Gayle and Brenton Parchment, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ricardo Powell, captain Robert Samuels, Gareth Breese, David Bernard Jnr. and Carlton Baugh Jnr., the bowling has been pacers Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor, medium-pacers Bernard and Hinds, and offspinners Breese, Gayle and Samuels with Ricardo Powell in support, and regardless of what Canada comes up with, in batting or bowling, that should be too good for them.
Jamaica will be without Taylor, who is away in Antigua on West Indies duty, and apart from replacing him, they are contemplating bringing in another of their reserves.
With fast bowlers Andrew Richardson and Evon McInnis and batsman Shawn Findlay as the reserves, however, that will not make it any easier for either Canada's batsmen or their bowlers.
Like Gayle, Findlay is not only
an opening batsman: he is also a tall, powerful left-hander and if he gets the chance to parade his skill, the man who could be asked to sit this one out is Gayle.
He may not want to do so, however and for a good reason.
Although, like John Davison, who cracked the fastest century in World Cup history against the West Indies in South Africa earlier this year, pacer Davis Joseph is not in this Canada line-up, revenge could probably be the reason.
SMASHING
Replying to Canada's 202 at Centurion Park, the West Indies chipped to 206 for three off 20.3 overs, and with Hinds smashing 64 including three sixes and 10 fours, with Brian Lara blasting 73 including five sixes and eight fours, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan scoring 42 not out, the only batsman who did not enjoy himself that day was Gayle.
Going back and attempting to cut a short wide delivery from Joseph, Gayle edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai and departed for only eight runs off 13 deliveries.
Captain Ishwar Maraj, Bagai, Abdool Samad and Austin Codrington - the pacer who conceded 25 runs off five overs are the only members of that team in this side and, although Joseph is absent, Gayle, who has been batting well in this tournament, with scores of 22 and 72 not out, and who has hit four massive sixes, would probably like to show the representatives of Canada how well he can bat and if revenge is really on his mind, also how powerfully he can hit the ball.
