Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
Jamaica batsman Xavier Marshall will be looking for a pile of runs against the Windwards at Alpart. - FILE
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Jamaica go hunting once again when they take on the Windward Islands in round two of the regional four-day Carib Beer Cup competition at Alpart today.
After leading the Leeward Islands on first innings on Monday, after going to within four runs of winning before settling for a draw, the home team are favourites to win the match and pocket the maximum 12 points.
Winners of the competition seven times, Jamaica are up against a team that has never won the title, the team that finished fifth out of six last season, and that is one reason why they are favourites.
Another reason is that last season Jamaica defeated the Windward Islands twice - once by 83 runs in St. Lucia at the Beausejour Stadium, and once by an innings and 37 runs at Alpart.
STARTING FAVOURITES
The main reason why Jamaica are starting favourites, however, is that they appear, once again, to be a better team.
Although Jamaica's batsmen failed to fire against the Leeward Islands, a line-up of Brenton Parchment, Xavier Marshall, Danza Hyatt, captain Tamar Lambert and probably Shaun Findlay, all-rounders David Bernard Jnr. and Gareth Breese, plus wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, should be good enough for the Windward Islands.
So, too, should their attack which should come from pacers Jerome Taylor, Andrew Richardson and Dwight Washington, medium-pacer Bernard, offspinner Breese, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller and offspinner Bevan Brown who has replaced the injured Odean Brown in the 13-man squad.
Matched against Jamaica's batting, the Windward Islands batting is weak - and especially so in the absence of opening batsman Devon Smith who, like Christopher Gayle, Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels of Jamaica, will not be in action in today's encounter.
While a batting line-up that is expected to depend heavily on the fortunes of Romel Currency, Craig Emmanuel, captain Rawle Lewis, veteran Junior Murray, Alvin LaFeuille and all-rounder Darren Sammy should drive little or no fear in Jamaica's bowlers, the home team's batsmen could be under pressure from the Windward Islands' bowlers.
In Deighton Butler and Kenroy Peters, the Windward Islands boast two good pacers, in Sammy, they have a good medium-pacer, in legspinner Lewis and offspinner Shane Shillingford, they also boast two first-rate spin bowlers, and it will be interesting, very interesting, to see how Jamaica's batsmen fare against them on an Alpart pitch that traditionally favours bowlers, but which recently and certainly over the past two seasons has been good for batting.
BOWLING SITUATION
Such is the Windward Islands bowling that Jamaica may be tempted, especially after it was left to the last pair to snatch first innings lead against the Leeward Islands and then to save them from defeat, especially with their legspinner injured and out of the squad, to go into this match with one less bowler and one more batsman.
Jamaica could well leave the batting as it was against the Leeward Islands however, bring in another pacer in Dwight Washington, and attack the Leeward Islands batsmen with three pacers, one medium-pacer and two spinners.
Chances are, however, it will be two pacers in Taylor and Richardson, one medium-pacer in Bernard, and two spinners in Breese and Miller, with still no place for Washington - the big pacer who nailed the visitors for 212 and 203 with figures of four for 18 and five for 20 at Alpart earlier this year.
