'We're right where we want to be'

Lions' captain Hildreth targets beating Jamaica to top standings

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

England Lions captain James Hildreth says he expects tomorrow's West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Four-day Tournament last-round showdown with Jamaica at Sabina Park to be like a final.

According to Hildreth who, along with other members of the team, arrived in the island yesterday, with his team currently at the top of the points table and Jamaica joint-second, the match has the potential to be a good one as they are looking to finish with the most points.

The Lions, who were invited to play in the tournament by the WICB, will exit the eight-team tournament after the completion of the preliminary round, while the remaining top four will contest the semi-finals and final.

"Coming into the tournament, our main aim was to top the preliminary-round standings and we are right where we want to be," said Hildreth who, with two centuries and a half-century, is also the team's second-highest run-scorer.

The game, which is slated to get under way at 10 a.m. each day, will see the Lions, who are on 48 points, trying to main their unbeaten record and continuing their trend of not losing first-innings points, as they have done in their previous six games.

It will also be a similar scenario for Jamaica, who are on 45 points and are yet to lose a game, a situation which Hildreth says his team welcomes.

"Jamaica has been consistent over the years and this season as well, they seem to be a really strong team, so we are really looking forward to the matchup. In fact, given our positions in the standings, to us it is like a final," he said.

England (from): James Hildreth (captain), Jimmy Adams, Jonny Bairstow, Danny Briggs, Nathan Buck, Maurice Chambers, Steven Finn, Andrew Gale, James Harris, Craig Kieswetter, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes, Andy Carter, Nathan Buck.