Wobbly Scorpions brace for powerful Pride
Barbados Pride will be aiming to close in on top spot when they face out-of-contention Jamaica Scorpions in the Professional Cricket League four-day match at Sabina Park starting this morning.
Play is scheduled to begin at 10:00.
The Pride, captained by Kraigg Brathwaite, are second in the PCL table with 90 points, not far behind league-leading Guyana Jaguars (107 points).
The Scorpions are third with 60 points, while Trinidad & Tobago Red Force (56), Windward Islands Volcanoes (41) and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (36) bring up the lower half of the table.
In their previous game, the Scorpions lost to the visiting Red Force by eight wickets at Sabina. The Pride, on the other hand, were dominant though, being held to a draw in Barbados by defending champions Guyana Jaguars.
The Pride’s batting has been a standout factor so far this season.
“Ultimately, we are confident going into this game. We have played some good cricket this season and we’ve batted well. Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shai Hope and Shamarh Brooks have all made centuries, so the batting is looking good,” said Wendell Coppin, the Pride team manager, ahead of yesterday morning’s training session.
He said the Scorpions are not as potent as Jamaica sides of yesteryear.
“Jamaica are perhaps in a state of rebuilding, missing the firepower of [Christopher] Gayle and [Marlon] Samuels. They are not as strong as they used to be and they’re a number of young players in the team,” Coppin said.
Jamaica Scorpions Head Coach Junior Bennett is urging his players to improve on what has generally been a poor show this season. He admitted it will be difficult against the high-flying Pride.
“We have to get it right, especially in the batting department. We have to rebound from our loss in the last game and we are hoping that our batsmen can be more consistent,” said Bennett.
“They (the Pride) are playing some good cricket. They are being consistent and they have been getting good first-innings totals, and once you have that in first-class cricket you are going to have good results. It’s high time we make a good first innings total,” added the Scorpions coach.
The Sabina pitch was said to have a small covering of grass up to yesterday morning and could be favourable to the seamers, especially early in the game. In recent years, slow bowlers have been able to get plenty of turn and bounce. In the previous game at Sabina Park, the Red Force comfortably chased 175 runs in the fourth innings — an indication the pitch was still good for batting on the third and fourth days.
Squads: Scorpions — John Campbell, Shacaya Thomas, Kirk Edwards, Andre McCarthy, Devon Thomas, Brandon King, Chadwick Walton, Nikita Miller, Damion Jacobs, Nicholson Gordon, Jason Dawes, Gavon Brown, Trevon Griffith.
Pride — Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Kyle Corbin, Miguel Cummings, Shane Dowrich, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Omar Phillips, Kevin Stoute, Hayden Walsh, Jomel Warrican.