Jamaica seek winning start

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Cricket, lovely cricket returns to Jamaica today with Jamaica, led by Christopher Gayle, going up against the Darren Sammy-led Windward Islands at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium, in one of two first-round games of the 2010 West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President's Cup one-day tournament.

The showdown, which is slated to start at 9 a.m. and will feature a number of West Indies and West Indies 'A' representatives, will see both teams trying to make a positive start as they seek to qualify for the semi-finals from Group A, and hopefully go on to win the coveted title.

The day's other Group A match-up will see back-to-back champions Trinidad and Tobago with all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, big-hitting Kieron Pollard and Adrian Barath in their line-up, tackling the Omar Phillips and Chadwick Walton-led Combined Campuses and Colleges at Kensington Park.

"We are at home and there is only one thing on our mind, and that is to win," said Gayle in a media interview.

"Looking at the make-up of the team, I think it is balanced and once we play to our potential we should be able to beat the Windwards," he added.

Jamaica last won the title three seasons ago and will be seeking an overall eighth hold in the tournament's 38-year history.

In addition to the hard-hitting Gayle, the home team will bank their hopes on dependable middle-order batsman Brendan Nash and the steady left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.

The trio should also get valuable support from all-rounders David Bernard Jr and Andre Russell who, on their day, can turn a game with either bat or ball.

Improving all-rounder

The Windwards, whose last hold on the title was in the 2000-01 season, will be hoping to create an upset through improving all-rounder Sammy and attacking batsmen Devon Smith and Andre Fletcher.

"The first game will be a big hurdle against Jamaica, but it's cricket and it's who plays better on the day who will win," said Sammy.

"We have a young team, which will be looking to bring a lot of energy and we will be giving the match our best shot," he declared.

Trinidad, who are gunning for an overall 11th hold on the crown - the most by any country - are favourites to beat the CCC and, according to their captain Daren Ganga, they expect to win.

"It should be a competitive game against CCC as they have proven to be a handful in recent regional tournaments. But our preparation has been going well and we expect that once we play good cricket we should be able to come out on top," said Ganga, shortly after his team's arrival on Tuesday.

In addition to Bravo, Pollard and Barath, batsman Lendl Simmons and left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed could prove a handful for CCC, who will look to West Indies 'A' Team representatives, spinner Shane Shillingford and pacer Nelon Pascal.

Barbados, Guyana and the WICB/Sagicor High Performance Centre arrived in the island yesterday.

The trio will compete in Group B alongside the Leewards Islands and will open their account tomorrow.

Barbados, who last won the title eight seasons ago and have in their line-up captain Ryan Hinds, opener Dale Richards and spinner Sulieman Benn, will play the Leewards at Sabina Park, while the High Performance Centre will do battle with Guyana at Kensington Park.

TEAMS:

Jamaica (from): Chris Gayle (Captain), Xavier Marshall, Danza Hyatt, Marlon Samuels, Tamar Lambert, Horace Miller, Brendan Nash, Carlton Baugh Jr (wicketkeeper), David Bernard Jr, Odean Brown, Nikita Miller, Andre Russell, Andrew Richardson, and Krishmar Santokie.

Windwards (from): Darren Sammy (Captain), Johnson Charles, Garey Mathurin, Keddy Lesporis, Craig Emmanuel, Donwell Hector, Kenroy Peters, Lyndon James (wicketkeeper), Devon Smith, Andre Fletcher, Nelon Pascal, Shane Shillingford, Mervin Matthew, and Liam Sebastien.