FOLLOWING failure in last year’s final, Kingston CC Captain Akim Fraser says his team is very motivated to lift the 2024 Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Senior Cup, even as Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) will be looking to spoil the party. The two teams clash in the two-day final at Sabina Park set to start at 10:00 this morning.

Kingston CC were edged out on first innings by St Catherine CC in the drawn 2023 final. But they returned the favour against the St Catherine CC team in this season’s semi-final at Kensington Park two weeks ago.

Fraser said his team wants to remove the beaten finalists’ tag from their name.

“We’re very motivated this year; we’re aiming to go one better and make things right. Last year would have been a painful experience for a number of players in the squad. A lot have returned, and there are a couple new faces, but we’re really up for this one and want to take it home,” he said.

JDF Captain Kevin Daley is confident that his unit, which beat St Mary at the last four-stage, has what it takes to become Senior Cup champions.

“To be honest, it has been a great season for us so far; we’ve only lost a game to Police earlier in the season. The preparation has been going well for us. On Thursday we went over some things that the team is kind of failing in, just to fine-tune for the final,” he said.

Throughout the season JDF have not trailed on first innings, and Daley is hoping for the same at Sabina Park with a fully fit team which potentially could include national representatives Sheldon Cottrell and Tevin Gilzene.

“Once we bat — we decide as a team we only want to bat once in any of these games — so we try as best as possible to bat for long periods, and whatever total is on the board we back ourselves at any time to back ourselves as a team. I think everybody is healthy and available. We haven’t completely made a decision — myself and Dennis Bulli — to finalise the 11 that we want to start with but everyone is gearing and ready for tomorrow,” he said.

Knowing the importance of the first-innings advantage, Fraser has urged his team to be proactive from ball one.

“I’ve basically told the team that we have to be prepared to play a one-innings game. When you get to this stage of the season it’s the first innings that really decides the game. It’s hard to force a result [outright win] inside two days — especially against a quality team in a final like this and at Sabina Park where the pitch should be good. So it’s very difficult to force a result and get 20 wickets in two days so it’s really about going out and executing properly in the first innings with the bat and the ball,” he said.

Kingston boasts the season’s leading wicket-taker in Patrick Harty but Fraser says the batting line-up, potentially boosted by West Indies batsman Brandon King, will be vital.

“It’s really been about backing their abilities and [doing] much of the same throughout the season. The two really in-form players have been Seymour and Joel Ewan; Seymour has two centuries, Ewan has a century and a couple half-centuries. Odean [Smith] has been batting well and we have Kirk McKenzie, Javaughn Buchanan, and possibly Brandon King returning to the team so they should bring much-needed experience to the team.”