Tony Becca
After starting the two regional cricket competitions with great expectations Jamaica, with a record of one win, two losses, and two draws - including one first innings loss, in the four-day Carib Beer Series, and one of two victories and three defeats in the one-day KFC Cup - are out of both of them.
Looking at the players, cricket fans are wondering why.
Boasting three West Indies batsmen in Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and captain Wavell Hinds, a West Indies all-rounder in David Bernard Jr., a West Indies wicketkeeper in Carlton Baugh Jr., three West Indies fast bowlers in Jerome Taylor, Jermaine Lawson and Daren Powell, plus a West Indies fast bowler in Dwight Washington who was not good enough to get into a team which, in left-arm spin bowler Nikita Miller and fast bowler Andrew Richardson, also included two West Indies 'A' players, Jamaica, unquestionably so, were numbered among the early favourites.
Once again, however, Jamaica disappointed, and after starting reasonably well in the Carib Beer Series before losing their last two matches at home, after having Trinidad and Tobago on the run at 139 for nine replying to 254 and losing by six wickets, and after starting with two victories in the KFC Cup before skidding to three defeats at home after dismissing Guyana for 163, it was, in fact, a bitter disappointment.
But for Brenton Parchment and to a lesser extent Tamar Lambert, one reason, as has been said many times before, for Jamaica's poor display was the performance of their batsmen - including that of captain Hinds, who, despite reeling off some fine drives through the covers, was always too defensive with the bat, blocked too many half-volleys and thus failed to inspire his team.
Another was the lack of fighting spirit; another was the dependency on pace and nothing but pace to dismiss the opposing batsmen; another was the selection of the team - as was evident in the last match; and, still another was the defensive play of the captain.
No fight
Although other teams fought back against them, not once during the two tournaments did Jamaica fight back with bat or ball. Once they were down, that basically was that.
Throughout the tournament and definitely so in the matches played at home, it was all power and nothing else. In other words, it was pace and more pace all the time with the deliveries either too full or too short and waiting to be driven, cut or hooked away to the boundary.
It was as if the Jamaica pacers did not know anything about bowling a good line and a good length, much more about how to swing the ball through the air or how to cut off the pitch.
As far as the selection of the team was concerned, that was puzzling.
Apart from the treatment of left-arm wrist spinner André Dwyer, who played two matches away from home and was discarded; apart from a futile attempt to get some runs out of them by switching around Lorenzo Ingram and Danza Hyatt at the top of order after dropping and then recalling them; apart from dropping young Jamie Trenchfield after one appearance in the Carib Beer Series; apart from dropping Shane Powell after one appearance in the KFC Cup; and, apart from persisting with Miller even though he took only six wickets in four Carib Beer Series matches, it was difficult to understand the selection of Bernard for the KFC Cup on Saturday at Sabina Park.
That was the match that Jamaica had to win to move on and although Bernard, batting at number six all season, scored only 149 runs at an average of 16.55 and took no wickets in the five matches of the Carib Beer Series, and scored only 57 runs while taking six wickets in the previous four KFC matches, he was selected in the team.
Bernard scored only four runs. What was interesting, however, was the fact that captain Hinds did not call upon the all-rounder to bowl even one delivery during Trinidad and Tobago's winning total of 225 for eight.
With Taylor, Lawson, Powell and Miller, plus Hinds, Gayle and Samuels, Jamaica did not need an all-rounder who was not producing.
In a team struggling for runs, in a team in which their number seven batsman, wicketkeeper Baugh, had scored only 131 runs at an average of 14.55 in the Carib Beer Series and only 72 at an average of 24.00 in the KFC Cup, Jamaica needed a batsman, or two.
Why did Bernard play?
While one can understand why Baugh was retained, the question is this: Why did Bernard play on Saturday?
Maybe it was simply because the selectors could not find a batsman good enough to replace him and with the alternative to Bernard being Ingram or Hyatt, young Trenchfield, who is not yet ready for that level of cricket, or Shane Powell, who does not look the part, one can understand that.
When all is said and done, however, Jamaica probably lost the match on Saturday and thus dropped out of the tournament because of a defensive captain.
Apart from the defensive batting of Hinds throughout the season, after Trinidad and Tobago had romped to 121 without loss off 17 overs looking to 224 to win on Saturday, after Jamaica had come back into the game at 200 for eight, after it was obvious that for Jamaica to win they would have to dismiss Trinidad and Tobago, it was disappointing to see the field spread with men on the boundary and Rayad Emrit and Dave Mohammed picking up easy singles.
