By Anthony Foster, Staff Reporter
Lawson
ALL EYES will be on West Indies fast bowler Jermaine Lawson when the Jamaica Select Team plays the touring England cricketers in a three-day match starting today at Sabina Park.
Lawson, who will be making his long-anticipated return to competitive cricket since May last year because of a suspect bowling action and back problems, was given the task by the Ruddy Williams-chaired selection panel.
PACER IS READY
National senior team coach, Robert Haynes, after watching Lawson bowl in the nets for almost an hour last Tuesday, believes the 21-year-old pacer is ready.
"He bowled with some pace, the only problem was his accuracy. But he hasn't bowled for a long time so these things are expected. He did run in and bowl some good balls," said Haynes.
Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan's side will be looking for good practice ahead of their four-Test series against the West Indies.
LOOKING TO BREAK DROUGHT
Vaughan's men are looking to become the first English team to win a Test series in the Caribbean in 36 years.
England coach Duncan Fletcher said the build-up to the first Test was short but that was part and parcel of international cricket nowadays.
"The way cricket is played these days the preparation is limited," Fletcher said. "The guys just have to make sure the next two weeks that they knuckle down and get ready for the first Test."
Despite missing their Test stars, the Jamaica Select Team, to be led by former West Indies Youth captain Brenton Parchment, should be fairly competitive.
Donovan Pagon, Tamar Lambert, Maurice Kepple, Mario Ventura, Lorenzo Ingram, Evon McInnis and Dwight Mais, all of whom represent Jamaica in the present Carib Beer Series, are capable and should give the Englishmen some stiff competition.
The other players with first class experience are West Indies 'B' Team players Shawn Findlay, Danza Hyatt and Dwight Washington, along with wicketkeeper/batsman Matthew Sinclair, who has not represented Jamaica for sometime now.
Uncapped left-arm spinner Phillip Keating and off-spinner Bevon Brown are the inexperienced players.
England (from) Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Gareth Batty, Chris Read, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collinwood, Stephen Harmison, James Hoggart, Geraint Jones and Simon Jones.
Jamaica Select (from) Parchment (captain), Lawson, Findlay, Pagon, Lambert, Kepple, Hyatt, Ventura, Sinclair, Ingram, Washington, McInnis, Mais, Keating and Brown.
