Tony Becca, Contributing EditorTHE REGIONAL Carib Beer cricket series enters its third round today with early leaders and high-riding Jamaica taking on defending champions Barbados at Kensington Oval, and gunning for victory.
After winning their first two matches, one at home against the Leeward Islands and one away against the Windward Islands, victory would make it three out of three for Jamaica.
It would leave them on maximum 36 points and although, with seven rounds to go after this one, there is still a long way to go, that would also leave them in a commanding if not invincible position. With Barbados, surprisingly playing their first four matches at home, at the bottom of the standings, victory, it appears, should be easy for Jamaica.
Apart from the fact that Barbados represent the most successful team in the regional tournament, that they won the title in 2003 and 2004, and that they are always difficult to beat - at home or away - Jamaica, however, should remember three things.
One is that maybe the reason why Barbados are on four points is because rain washed out their first match and because they ran into Dave Mohammed a left-arm wrist spinner who was in brilliant form; two is that in the past three years, in five matches, they only defeated Barbados once while losing three times and dropping first innings points on one occasion; and three, that in last year's final to determine the winners of the Shield, they lost by 84 runs after dismissing Barbados for 142 in the first innings and chipping to 258 for a lead of 116.
TITLE
The past, however, is the past, and regardless of the results in 2003 when they dropped first innings points to Barbados at Crab Hill and lost by seven wickets at Kensington Oval, and again last year when they lost by 40 runs at Sabina Park and then collapsed at Crab Hill, this time they are a good bet to win as they were in 2002 at Sabina Park when they knocked off Barbados by an innings and 39 runs on their way to winning the title.
One reason for their fancied position is that Jamaica are bubbling with confidence; another reason is that fast bowlers Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor are bowling well; and still another reason is that medium-pacer David Bernard Jnr., left-arm spinner Nikita Miller and offspinner Bevan Brown are also bowling well.
In recent years, Barbadian batsmen have been suspect to good spin bowling, as the now injured Gareth Breese underlined on a number of occasions, more so to good offspin bowling, and as well as Powell and Taylor, Bernard and Miller are bowling, Jamaica's ace could well be Bevan Brown the man who replaced legspinner Odean Brown for the match against the Windward Islands.
OFFSPIN
Was it that the Jamaica selectors simply preferred the offspin of Bevan Brown over the legspin of Odean Brown for that match even though Odean Brown bowled well last year and took three wickets for 22 runs off 10 overs in the second innings against the Leeward Islands?
That may well have been the case. Although Odean Brown took some wickets towards the end of the Leeward Islands second innings, he did not really bowl well and the selectors may well have decided that Bevan Brown, who bowled so well in the practice matches, was a better bet.
It may be, however, that Jamaica were looking ahead, that they wanted to be ready for Barbados, that they intended to have Bevan Brown in their attack at Kensington Oval, and that as a newcomer, they wanted to give him a run before.
Jamaica's attack of Powell, Taylor and Bernard, Miller and Bevan Brown, looks good, and despite
facing a batting line-up that includes the likes of Dale Richards, Kurt Wilkinson, Dwayne Smith and veteran Sherwin Campbell, it should be too strong for Barbados.
Apart from fielding as well as they did in the first two matches, however, in order to win the match, in order to make it three from three, Jamaica, Bevan Brown or no Bevan Brown, will have to bat well - certainly better than they did against the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.
THIRD-ROUND MATCHES
| Barbados | vs | JAMAICA |
| Windwards | vs | Guyana |
| T&T | vs | Leewards |
Home teams first
