Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - SportRED-HOT JAMAICA will be out to maintain their dream start to the Carib Beer Series season when they take on Trinidad and Tobago in a fifth round encounter at Alpart, St. Elizabeth today.
After four matches, Jamaica have bolted away from the rest of the field with four straight victories and the maximum 48 points.
The visitors are second but it is only a top-of-the-table clash in theory as they have half as many points as the hosts from a win, loss and two draws.
In Jamaica's first three encounters, the charge was well and truly led by the bowlers who kept the opponents to minimal scores and there was little doubt pacemen Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor, medium pacer David Bernard and spinners Nikita Miller, Odean Brown and Bevon Brown were the team's stars.
However, at Kensington Park last week, the batsman finally got in on the act as Jamaica routed Guyana by an innings and 67 runs. Brenton Parchment and Carlton Baugh hit even centuries while skipper Tamar Lambert and Bernard posted half centuries as the hosts compiled what turned out to be an unreachable first innings total of 410 for six declared.
With the young team now apparently firing on all cylinders, things look grim for Trinidad and Tobago.
SEASONED CAMPAIGNER
In captain Daren Ganga they have a seasoned campaigner to lead a talented but inconsistent side. Lendl Simmons, Imran Jan, Sherwin Ganga, young 'keeper Denesh Ramdin and Shazam Babwah are more than useful bats but the team seems to have trouble establishing meaningful partnerships.
In the bowling department, paceman Rayad Emrit and spinners Amit Jaggernauth and Dave Mohammed have had their moments but they will have to be right on top of their games to threaten a team which is going from strength to strength.
Despite the emphatic victory over Guyana, the Jamaica line-up is likely to be tinkered with as a spinner (one of the Browns) could come in for last week's debutante Dwight Stuart while Dwight Washington is likely to play.
With Jamaica's international contingent set to return from Australia, the current young lions will be even more hungry to keep their places in the team, which does not bode well for Trinidad.
