Taylor suffers injury scare at trials

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Fast bowler Jerome Taylor suffered a minor injury scare at Chedwin Park yesterday while bowling in the first of three scheduled trial matches which are being staged to help select Jamaica's team for next month's second annual Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament.

Taylor, who was competing in his second competitive match since aggravating a back injury during the ICC World Twenty20 in May, felt a glitch around his hamstring during his second over, and rather than pushing it, decided to leave the field.

His first competitive game was a three-day pretrial match organised by the Jamaica Cricket Association last week.

"It is not a serious injury. What happened is that he felt his hamstring tighten up a bit, and based on our policy regarding assessing injuries, he left the field," said Gibbs Williams, the team's newly appointed physical trainer.

"But he is quite fine now. In fact, he wanted to go back on the field, but we said no. He will, however, be involved in the second match."

Sad end

It was a sad end for Taylor, whose team Wavell Hinds XI, eventually got the better of Tamar Lambert's XI in a rather entertaining encounter.

He generated good pace and bounce and was beginning to look like his old self, and was a handful for the batsmen who were facing. However, as fate was to have it, he was only able to end with figures of eight for zero in 1.5 overs.

The game eventually saw Hinds XI winning with two balls to spare.

Set 144 to win off their allotted 20 overs, the victors reached their target for the loss of five wickets with Hinds scoring 39 off 27 balls, returning batting all-rounder, Shawn Findlay, 27 not out off 21, and young batsman Horace Miller, 25 not out off 12 deliveries also made meaningful contributions.

Andrew Richardson, 2-24 off his allotted four overs, was the pick of Lambert's bowlers.

Earlier, Lambert XI's below-par total was centred around Marlon Samuels, who made 38 from 37 balls, and Lambert, who chipped in with 27 off 24 balls.

Quite pleased

"I was quite pleased with most aspects of both teams' performance," said newly appointed head coach, Gus Logie.

"The ground field of both teams for the most part was good, a number of batsmen got good knocks, and the bowlers were usually accurate.

I am, however, concerned with the amount of extras that were given. But all in all, it was a positive start, and I look forward to second and third games," he added.

The second game will be played today at 1 p.m., with the third and final tomorrow at 9 a.m. Both games will also be played at Chedwin Park.

The national selectors will then shortly after the final game name a 14-man squad, which represents the country at the January 10th to 23rd tournament, which will be held in Barbados and Antigua.

Jamaica, who will play the tournament's opening match against defending champions Guyana on the opening day, have never won a regional Twenty20 title, despite three attempts, with their best finish being reaching the final of the now-defunct Stanford Twenty20 Tournament in 2006.