Newcomer Gordon Bryan is excited to be included in the 14-member Jamaica Scorpions squad for the Regional Super50 cricket tournament in Barbados, and has an ambitious target if given an extended run.

Bryan, the 26-year-old fast bowler, is largely unknown in regional cricket circles but represented a Jamaica XI in a tour match against England Lions at Sabina Park in February.

“It’s a good inclusion [in the Super50 squad]. I want to go there and, if given the chance, I want to finish the tournament with at least 20 wickets,” he told the Jamaica Observer after training at Kensington Park yesterday.

The Manchester CA player is a native of the parish and a former Holmwood Technical student.

He credited Manchester Head Coach Barry Barnes for aiding his development, while noting that the call-up to face the Lions was a welcome reward. “I went to play against England Lions and it boosted my confidence,” said the slender- framed pacer.

“Over the years I’ve been playing Senior Cup for Manchester and I’ve been taking wickets. My coach Barry Barnes saw my talent and he always encouraged me that one day I’m going to play [for Jamaica], so I should continue to work on my craft.

“Coach Barnes believes in hard work and he wants the best for me so he always gives me hard work, and I did that and here I am today,” Bryan added.

He said that his ability to swing the ball and to stick to a tidy line and length have contributed to his success.

“My strength is to swing the ball. I naturally swing the ball, and I bowl good areas and let the ball do the work,” Bryan said.

But when conditions are not necessarily favourable to the quicks, he said he is also adept at using “variation like slower balls, yorkers, and stuff like that” to claim wickets.

The Super50 is scheduled to run from October 3-28. The Scorpions lost the 2016-17 final to Barbados Pride but last season they failed to reach the semi-finals.

— Sanjay Myers