Jamaica must win, then hope ...

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

After failing to record a win in their first two games, Jamaica must beat the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) at Kensington Park to have any chance of advancing to the semi-finals of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional 50 Over Tournament.

The game, which is slated to start at 9 a.m., is expected to see Jamaica sporting the same starting line-up which they used in their last outing against defending champions Trinidad and Tobago at Sabina Park, a match that ended in a no-result last Saturday due to rain.

In that game, Jamaica left out Marlon Samuels, who it was reported was injured, young batsman Horace Miller, and fast bowler Andrew Richardson from their squad of 14, and brought in all-rounder Andre Russell.

Jamaica currently have two points, four less than second-place Trinidad and Tobago, and six behind runaway leaders and early qualifiers, the Windward Islands, which will meet at Sabina Park in the day's other game.

To qualify

The CCC - without a point from two outings - round off the group.

This means that for Jamaica to qualify, they would need not only to win, but by a large margin; and hope that the Windward Islands beat Trinidad and Tobago, thus bringing the qualifying equation into a net run rate.

"We will have to play according to the situation as it is not only a must-win game, but we would need to win big if we are we are to give ourselves a chance of making it through," said Jamaica's captain, Chris Gayle, following their game against Trinidad and Tobago.

"The CCC is also a good team and has not been playing bad, so it won't be easy. But we will give it our best shot," he added.

Against Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica had pace bowlers David Bernard Jr and Krishmar Santokie to thank for their fairly good bowling performance, and come today they will be hoping that they come good again, along with spinners Nikita Miller and Odean Brown.

Jamaica, who lost the toss and were asked to field, dismissed Trinidad for 225 in 49.5 overs, and were 45 for two off 10.4 overs when rain ended play, after being set a revised target of 224 off 49 overs.

A minimum of 20 overs constitutes a game and would have been needed before the controversial Duckworth/Lewis scoring method could have been brought into play.

Openers Gayle and Marshall, who made seven and a duck, respectively, and left Jamaica in a bit of quandary at 28-2, will be hoping for improved performances to give the hosts a bright start, while Danza Hyatt and Brendan Nash, who were doing a fairly good repair job before the rains came, will be hoping for a repeat of their showing.

The batting line-up is expected to be completed by Tamar Lambert, Bernard Jr, Carlton Baugh Jr, Russell, Miller, Brown and Santokie.

The CCC will look to captain Romel Currency, player-coach Floyd Reifer and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton in their quest to end the tournament with a positive result.

Trinidad and Tobago, in the meanwhile, will be looking to book the second and final qualifying spot in the group against the Windwards and their captain, Daren Ganga, is confident.

"The no result was a lifeline to Jamaica. But we are going to focus against the Windward Islands. We are happy to be in the position that we are and once we play to our usual high standards we should come out on top," he declared.

The Windwards will rest their hopes on newly-appointed West Indies captain, all-rounder Darren Sammy, West Indies recall Devon Smith and hard-hitting opener, Andre Fletcher.