Jamaica Scorpions and West Indies Academy enter Wednesday’s start of the fourth round of the West Indies Championship at Sabina Park with batting very much under the microscope.

Over the first three rounds of the tournament in February, both teams have endured struggles with the bat, particularly at the top of the order.

The Andrew Richardson-coached Scorpions, who have played all their matches at Sabina Park in Kingston, have lost twice and won once and are fourth in the eight-team table with 29.6 points.

The youthful academy team, which features several outstanding former youth players, has an identical win-loss record but lies seventh with 24 points.

Richardson said the Scorpions’ batting will have to come good against an “energetic” academy outfit.

“They (West Indies Academy) do have some quality… they are a very athletic and energetic team and we do expect them to play that sort of way,” the head coach said on the eve of the match.

“We would certainly love more output from our top five [batsmen]… it’s just a matter of the top order giving us a solid foundation and kicking on so that the guys batting in the lower half can give them a lot of production as well.”

The Scorpions are boosted by the return of West Indies white-ball batsman Brandon King, who missed the opening three rounds due to his involvement in the regional team’s tour of Australia and his stint in the Bangladesh Premier League.

But they are without 38-year-old opener Chadwick Walton — the team’s only century-maker and leading batsman with a 242-run tally this season — as he takes up franchise cricket obligations overseas.

Notably, the Scorpions are also without pacer Gordon Bryan, one of the team’s top performers before the competition’s three-week break, because he has a fractured left forearm.

GRIFFITH…If we get better at the top of the order, we’ll make 300-plus [scores]. (Photo: CWI Media)

“We’ve been bowling very well throughout the competition,” he said.

“If we get better at the top of the order, we’ll make 300-plus [scores],” Griffith explained.

“Young people want things to happen fast but things don’t happen fast in everything. We have to understand and read situations… it’s for them to show they are learning.”

Windward Islands Volcanoes (62.2 points) lead the table ahead of second-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes (45.6) and the third-placed Barbados Pride (43.8). Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, on 27.6 points, are fifth, followed by title holders Guyana Harpy Eagles (26.4) and Combined Campuses and Colleges (14.6).

Squads: Scorpions — Brandon King (captain), Carlos Brown, Kirk McKenzie, Leroy Lugg, Jermaine Blackwood, Abhijai Mansingh, Romaine Morris, Peat Salmon, Derval Green, Andre McCarthy, Ojay Shields, Jeavor Royal, Ramaal Lewis.
WI Academy — Nyeem Young (captain), Teddy Bishop, Kadeem Alleyne, Rashawn Worrell, Jordan Johnson, Ackeem Auguste, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Johann Layne, McKenny Clarke, Joshua Bishop, Joshua Dorne, Joshua James, Ashmead Nedd.
ROUND FOUR SCHEDULE (March 13-16)
Scorpions vs CWI Academy
Red Force vs Volcanoes
CCC vs Hurricanes
Harpy Eagles vs Pride

—Sanjay Myers