From left, Gayle, and Lara
Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
THE FINAL match in Zone A of the Red Stripe Bowl limited-overs cricket tournament takes place at Sabina Park today, it is Jamaica versus Trinidad and Tobago, and with both teams already qualified for the semi-finals, the interest is simply who will top the zone and stay away from the winners of Zone B.
With three matches gone, Jamaica, three from three, are ahead of Trinidad and Tobago with two victories and a no-result, and while victory for Jamaica will leave them on top with maximum 16 points, as was the case in 2001, victory for Trinidad and Tobago will hand them the zone honours and a date with the Zone B runners-up in the semi-finals.
Listening to the confident home supporters, it really does not matter who plays who in the semi-finals, and with such belief, it does not matter, according to them, who finish first or who finish second in the zone.
Apart from the fact that an unbeaten record would boost the confidence of either team going into the sudden death semi-finals, experience teaches wisdom and, after their experience in 2001, Jamaica must be going for victory today.
In 2001 when each team played three matches in the zone, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago went into the final match with two victories each and Jamaica, chasing a victory target of 195 in 34 overs and playing without Christopher Gayle, who was rested, lost their way early and although the odds were against them, surrendered without a fight to the annoyance of the crowd.
According to Jamaica, with both teams already in the semi-finals, it did not matter who won that match and, after falling behind, after finding themselves in a position where victory, barring an innings or two out of the ordinary, was out of reach, they decided that it was better to lose on run-rate than to be bowled out and hand Trinidad and Tobago what they believed would have been a psychological advantage should they meet in the final.
Based on what transpired in Discovery Bay in the semi-finals, it did matter that they finished second instead of first.
As the runners-up in Zone A, Jamaica had to play Guyana the winners of Zone B, with Guyana scoring 191 for nine and Jamaica also scoring 191 for nine, at the end of the match it was a tie and because Jamaica had finished second in their group, because Guyana had won their group, Guyana advanced to the final where they took on Barbados, the Zone B runners-up who had defeated Trinidad and Tobago, in the final and beat them easily.
Apart from the fact that traditionally Jamaica versus Trinidad and Tobago is always a "needle" match and that neither team wants to lose to the other, winning the zone is therefore important, and with so many good players in both teams, with some exciting batsmen on either side, it should be a thrilling contest between the best teams in the zone.
Batting for Jamaica will be the exciting Chris-topher Gayle, Brenton Parchment, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels and Ricardo Powell and they will be followed by captain Robert Samuels, Gareth Breese, David Bernard Jnr., and Carlton Baugh.
T&T BATTING
Batting for Trinidad and Tobago will not only be captain Daren Ganga, Dwayne Bravo and Aneil Kanhai, but also Andy 'Action' Jackson, Brian Lara the man who held the world record for the highest individual innings in Test cricket until a few days ago, and Shazam Babwah the man who went to bat against the Windward Islands at Kensington Park on Thursday with Trinidad and Tobago sliding at 43 for five, and with his team skidding at 47 for seven, slammed 103 not out with seven fours and four sixes off 99 deliveries.
So good are most of the batsmen on either side, so brilliant, so powerful are some of them that the bowlers pacers Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor, medium-pacer Bernard, offspinners Breese, Gayle and Samuels of Jamaica, and with Mervyn Dillon, struck by lightning on Thursday and unlikely to be action, pacers Theodore Modeste and Reyad Emrit, legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine and left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed - could be in for a rough day if they fire.
