THE contenders are poised to separate themselves from the pretenders as the Rothmans National Cricket Championship moves into its tenth round of matches today.
With a further three rounds before the semi-finals teams will be seeking maximum points to improve or maintain their positions in the standings. Last week seven teams achieved outright wins.
The matches which start today and continue tomorrow are:
Surrey Senior Cup: Kensington vs St. Thomas at Kensington, Portland vs Lucas at Folly Oval, Police vs Boys Town at Elletson Road, Kingston vs Melbourne at Sabina Park, St. Catherine vs Tivoli at Chedwin Park.
Middlesex Senior Cup: Manchester vs St. Catherine at Manchester High School, Clarendon vs St. Ann at Ebony Park.
Cornwall Senior Cup: Hanover vs Westmoreland at Elgin Town, St. Elizabeth vs St. James at Alpart.
A good battle looms between Melbourne and Kingston and depending on the outcome one of the teams could surpass leaders Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), who are resting this week.
JDF who completed an easy 10-wicket win over St. Thomas last week, lead the standings with 29 points with Melbourne (26), Kingston (24) and Kensington (23) in striking distance. Only the top two teams in the Surrey Senior Cup are guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals.
The remaining two places will come from Middlesex and Cornwall.
St. Catherine lead the pack of contenders for the lone semi-final spot in the Middlesex Senior Cup with 16 points. St. Mary (13), St. Ann (11) are the only other teams in challenging position.
In the Cornwall Senior Cup Westmoreland have won all their games outright and as a result are totally in control with 30 points, 12 over nearest rivals St. Elizabeth and look a sure bet for the semi-final.
