Jamaica, CCC in Chedwin clash

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Leaders Jamaica and fourth-place the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) will today be hoping for a positive start when they meet in round five of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-day tournament at Chedwin Park, St Catherine.

The match, which is slated to get under way at 10 a.m. each day, will see three-time defending champions Jamaica going all out to maintain their unbeaten record in the seven-team championship, while for the developmental CCC team, who have so far recorded upset wins over the Leewards and Windward Islands, the aim will be to continue their giant-killing act.

Good contest

"It should be a good contest as the CCC is known to be a fighting team and has been playing some good cricket," said Jamaica's captain Tamar Lambert, shortly after the team's final training session yesterday.

"But having said that, we have been playing consistent cricket as well, and with the type of players we have, and home-crowd support, I am confident that we can get the result we want," Lambert added.

Jamaica, who have played four games so far and have notched up a two-win, two-draw record, including two first-innings results, will in their quest for victory look to in-form batsman Marlon Samuels and leg-spinner Odean Brown to lead their batting and bowling charge, respectively.

Leading run-getter

Samuels, who recently turned down an offer to represent the West Indies in the ongoing World Cup due to a "lack of readiness for international cricket", is so far the tournament's leading run-getter with 595 runs at an average of 99.16, including three centuries.

Brown, on the other hand, is the tournament's third-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps.

Other batsmen who are expected to make life difficult for the CCC are Brendan Nash, Danza Hyatt, Simon Jackson and Lambert, who have all scored half-centuries thus far, but are yet to record a century.

As it relates to the bowlers, with front-line fastman Jerome Taylor out due to the death of his grandmother, much will be expected of pacers Andrew Richardson, David Bernard Jr and Jason Dawes, with Lambert providing able support with his part-time off-spin.

The CCC, meanwhile, will be banking on the tournament's leading wicket-taker, off-spinner Ryan Austin, who has so far gathered 18 wickets, and promising 20-year-old middle-order batsman Kyle Corbin, who is fifth on the leading run-getter chart with 323 runs at an average 40.37, inclusive of a century and three half-centuries.

Batting all-rounder Nkrumah Bonner and middle-order batsman Shacoya Thomas, who are both Jamaicans, are also expected to add some life to the CCC team.

"We are not too concerned about Jamaica, at the moment, as we have been playing some good cricket