By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterA WHOPPING $500,000 will be at stake when first-day action of the three-day Supreme Ventures Super Cup bowls off between St. Catherine CC and Kensington at Sabina Park this morning.
Set to start at 10:00 a.m., a number of West Indies and Jamaica players will be on show, vying for the Michael Holding Trophy.
More than $630,000 have already been paid out in incentives. Players will be keen to make use of their last opportunity to cash in on the rich payouts. St. Catherine collected $100,000 for finishing second in the preliminary round and Kensington $50,000 for fourth. On paper, St. Catherine, with the competition's only double centurion, Tamar Lambert, along with other players such as Renford Pinnock, Jnr., Dean Morgan and Odean Brown, should start favourites against Kensington with Wavell Hinds, Maurice Kepple and Kevin Peart. However, St. Catherine's captain, Pinnock Jnr., remains cautious.
"We are not taking anything for granted," he said. "This is a final and everybody is going to win. We are expecting a good fight and we are going great guns."
BOWL IN PARTNERSHIPS
Team work, Pinnock said, will be key. "We have to bowl in partnerships," he pointed out. "We have to lock both ends by keeping it tight as possible and put them under pressure."
Apart from Hinds, Pinnock identified Kepple and Samuel Douglas as dangers. Kepple has represented Jamaica for the past two years and a century from Douglas against pre-season favourites Melbourne, has caught Pinnock's eye. Nigel Logan, manager of Kensington, said they are ready for the fight.
"We have prepared well and the guys are physically fit," Logan said. "The emphasis will be on the batting, spin bowling and fielding."
With a batting line-up that includes Lambert, Dean Morgan and Pinnock who have over 1500 runs between them, plus Tony Powell, who scored a century in his first outing and Wayne Morgan, who got 92 not out in the semi-final, St. Catherine are in good hands.
On the bowling side, Odean Brown, Bevon Brown and pacer Damion Morgan have over 80 wickets between them for St. Catherine.
Kensington are hoping Hinds, Kepple, Douglas, Ranville Brown and Andre Hall can capitalise on the absence of Jermaine Lawson from St. Catherine's bowling attack.
