JAMAICA senior cricket manager Fritz Harris said he was “fairly satisfied” with the camaraderie within the squad just before the scheduled departure to Antigua to compete in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Caribbean Twenty20 (CT20) Championship.

The tournament is to be co-hosted by Antigua and Barbados from January 9-22.

Harris told the Observer that there is room for improvement as the Jamaica team seeks its first hold on a regional T20 title.

“The camaraderie (within the squad) is a work in progress. I’m fairly satisfied with it at the moment, but it could have been better,” he said at Sabina Park yesterday.

He identified the cancellation of two practice matches against Guyana, due to the internal problems of that country’s cricket board, as a contributing factor.

“This is probably where we are going to miss the two games we should have played down in Guyana. We still made the best of what we could have done, given the circumstances and I feel confident that by mid-way the preliminary rounds we’ll get things where we want them to be,” he said.

The David Bernard Jnr-led 14-member squad, boosted by numerous players with senior West Indies or ‘A’ team experience, is one of the favourites to win the title.

One newcomer to the set-up is 24-year-old batsman Andre McCarthy, who is a former West Indies Under-19 representative.

The right-hander, who plays domestically for Melbourne Cricket Club, had previously missed out on making the Jamaican team in various formats of the game, despite decent producing performances in trial matches.

McCarthy said he was happy for the opportunity and is looking forward to guidance from the more senior members of the team.

“It’s a very good feeling because playing cricket the ultimate goal is always to play for Jamaica and the West Indies. I’m not really nervous, but sometimes I think about the game too hard so I’ll try to be relaxed if I’m given a chance. I’m definitely looking for inspiration from senior players going into the tournament and our vibe is good right now,” he said.

Also in the final 14 are West Indies batsmen Danza Hyatt and Marlon Samuels, along with fast bowling all-rounder Andre Russell. The diminutive Carlton Baugh Jnr fills the specialist wicketkeeper slot.

The promising Horace Miller — more known for his batting — is Baugh’s possible deputy.

The squad features batsman Kenar Lewis, all-rounders Bernard Jnr, Nkrumah Bonner and Shawn Findlay. Sheldon Cotterell, Krishmar Santokie, Nikita Miller and Odean Brown are the specialist bowlers.

Side lined West Indies left-hander Chris Gayle had a prior contract with the Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Australian Big Bash T20 tournament and was not selected. The lack of his power-hitting at the top of the order could prove to be a weakness for the team, but coach Junior Bennett is expecting the likes of Kenar Lewis and Horace Miller to take up the mantle.

The Jamaicans are in Group B along with Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), Barbados and guests Netherlands and English County team Sussex. Jamaica open their account tomorrow in a day/night fixture against the CCC.

Group A consists of reigning champions Trinidad & Tobago, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Guyana and invited team Canada.

The tournament gets underway today with Trinidad & Tobago facing the Windward Islands, also in Antigua. Matches in the latter half of the tournament will be hosted at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

The winners of the regional T20 tournament will represent the Caribbean at the lucrative Champions League cricket showpiece later this year.