The much-anticipated clash between Kingston Cricket Club (CC) and Melbourne CC at Sabina Park will take the spotlight as the third round of the Senior Cup gets underway today.

West Indies and Jamaica batsman Brandon King is ready to line up for Kingston in the battle between heavyweight teams loaded with a number of national players.

“It’s good to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s game against Melbourne. It should be a good game against one of our big rivals,” he told the Jamaica Observer on the eve of the match.

King had made a 65-ball 89 in the opening-round win over hosts Kingston and St Andrew Cricket Association (CA) at Maxfield Park, but he did not feature in last week’s draw away to The University of the West Indies in the second round.

While his Senior Cup outing is a boost for Kingston CC and gives him the chance to reconnect with club teammates, it offers valuable batting practise for the player who is set to join the West Indies team for the white-ball series away to South Africa later this month.

“Once I’m here in Jamaica and I get the chance to play cricket, I always try to do that. It’s been a while since I played a Senior Cup game so it is good to be around my club mates,” King explained.

In some other third-round clashes set to grab attention, St Catherine CA are to welcome Clarendon to Windalco Sports Club; St Ann host St Mary at Noranda Bauxite; and St Catherine CC are to visit Collie Smith Drive to face Boys’ Town.

For this round St Catherine CC are unlikely to have the services of West Indies Twenty20 World Cup winner Andre Russell who took a hat-trick, highlighted by four wickets in as many balls, last time out in his 5-8 against St Thomas. But the St Catherine CC team, blessed with a number of national players, will start the match as favourites against the hosts.

The Senior Cup, which features two-day matches, is to comprise seven preliminary rounds this season.

The top two teams from each of the four zones will advance to the quarter-finals, and the competition is scheduled to conclude with the semi-finals and final in late April.

Advantage General Insurance Company is a sponsor for this season’s competition.