JAMAICA captain Tamar Lambert is expecting a tough battle against the Windward Islands when the teams meet in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-Day competition at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada, starting Wednesday.

Jamaica lie in third place with 12 points after a relatively comfortable win over Barbados in their lone outing so far, but the five-time defending champions will come up against an in-form Windwards outfit, which leads the standing with maximum 36 points from three matches.

Lambert, who along with the rest of the squad, was scheduled to leave for Grenada yesterday, told the Sunday Observer that he is gunning for win number two, but is wary of the threat posed by the hosts.

“Definitely we want to continue winning, but we know it’s not going to be easy. Windwards have been playing some good cricket this season. The results they are getting demonstrate that, so we know it is going to be tough. We hope to go over there and play our best cricket and come out on top,” he said before departure from Sabina Park yesterday.

The Junior Bennett-coached squad includes West Indies batsman Christopher Gayle, who is using the game as preparation for the start of the two-Test series against visitors Zimbabwe, which begins on March 12.

In Gayle’s last four-day outing for Jamaica a year ago, he belted the Windward Islands bowling in a whirlwind 165 at Sabina Park that secured victory for Jamaica.

Incidentally, batting is one area in which Lambert identifies the dire need for improvement.

“I think of the three rudiments of the game — batting, bowling and fielding — the batting could be a lot better, so we need to improve in that area. I can’t really complain about the bowling unit or the ground fielding and catching. So the batting is the only concern right now, but we have some games to go and hopefully we can get it right,” he reasoned.

Also included in the Jamaica set-up is rookie Brian Buchanan. The 27-year-old pace bowler replaces left-arm seamer Sheldon Cotterell, who joins teammate Jermaine Blackwood in the Sagicor High Performance Centre team slated to face a Zimbabwe XI in a warm-up game in Barbados from March 7-9.

Lambert stressed that undue pressure will not be placed on the Clarendon CA newcomer, whom he says, has performed admirably in recent times.

“I have big expectations for Brian Buchanan, but this is his first tour, so I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on him. He’s been around a couple of years and has been bowling very well in training and in practice games. At the end of the day it’s another game for him and hopefully we can get him settled so that if given the chance he can perform well for his country,” the Jamaica skipper said.

As Jamaica seek to extend their record to six consecutive four-day titles, Lambert insisted that reaching the semi-final remains the team’s priority.

“We want to win six straight, but that is still a long way off. This is going to be our second four-day game and there’s still a lot of cricket to be played. We want to take it one game at a time and try to move on to the semi-final and then take it from there,” he reasoned.

The teams will also face each other in the Regional Super50 Championships on March 12 at the same venue. The Jamaicans are also the title-holders of that competition.

Ja squad— Tamar Lambert (capt), Christopher Gayle, Simon Jackson, Nkrumah Bonner, Danza Hyatt, David Bernard, Carlton Baugh, Nikita Miller, Andrew Richardson, Odean Brown, Brian Buchanan, Xavier Marshall, Zeniffe Fowler. Head coach — Junior Bennett; Physical trainer — David Bernard (Snr); Manager — Donovan Senior.

Jamaican cricketers Simon Jackson (right) and Andrew Richardson prepare to depart Sabina Park yesterday ahead of their Regional Four-Day match against the Windward Islands in Grenada, starting on Wednesday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)