Tony Becca
THE SUPREME Ventures Super Cup cricket competition is heading for a close and exciting finish.
With seven rounds gone and two to come, St. Catherine CC are out in front on 27 points. They are followed by defending champions Manchester and Kingston who are locked in second position on 25 points, by Melbourne who are one point behind in fourth spot, and based on the matches to come, it will be interesting, very interesting, from here on in.
ROUSING FAVOURITE
In round number eight, it will be St. Catherine at home to St. Mary, Manchester away to Portland, Kingston at home to the Jamaica Defence Force, Melbourne away to St. Elizabeth.
And although all four leaders will be gunning for victory, even though all four must be in with a good chance of winning, only Manchester are rousing favourites to win.
All things being equal, therefore, it should be a draw for St. Catherine, Kingston and Melbourne, victory for Manchester, and that would mean that at the end of the round, it would be Manchester in front on 31 points followed by St. Catherine on 30, Kingston on 28, and Melbourne on 27 with one round to go.
In round number nine, the final round, it will be St. Catherine away to JDF, Manchester at home to Kingston, Melbourne at home to Portland, and although St. Catherine could defeat JDF, they could be limited to first innings lead, Manchester versus Kingston could go either way in a battle for first innings, and Melbourne should defeat Portland.
If that happens St. Catherine would finish the contest on 33 points, Melbourne would end up on 33, Kingston, if they lead Manchester, would finish on 31, and Manchester, if they lead Kingston, would end up on 34 and would retain the title.
EXCITING FINALE
An interesting season could, therefore, end up in an exciting finale with three points separating the top four teams and with one winning by one point.
It could, however, also end up in a tie at the top. If that happens, if they are in the tie, Melbourne would be crowned champions after leading all three contenders - St. Catherine, Manchester and Kingston - on first innings.
Right now, the odds favour St. Catherine and Manchester. With spinners Odean Brown and Bevan Brown in their line-up, St. Catherine, with a little luck, could defeat both St. Mary and JDF, and apart from defeating Portland as expected, Manchester, with an attack that includes left-arm spinner Andre Dwyer, could lead Kingston on first innings.
Chances are, however, it will go down to the wire with the top four teams - St. Catherine, Manchester, Kingston and Melbourne - still in contention on the last day and a point or two being the difference.
Kingston could defeat JDF in the eighth round, Melbourne could defeat St. Elizabeth, and that would really set the stage for the last round of the contest.
