The St Catherine Cricket Club pair of Tamar Lambert and Bevon Brown have had their initial five- and three-match bans reduced by the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) board to three and two matches, respectively, following Thursday's appeal between club officials and the JCA's top brass.

The duo was originally suspended for their alleged actions during a Super League Championship game earlier this year against the Melbourne Kangaroos at Chedwin Park, where they are believed to have turned the game into a farce.

When contacted, officials from the JCA were unwilling to go on record regarding the issue. However, two high-level sources, speaking on a condition of anonymity, confirmed that the bans were reduced.

It is further understood that the two, who are both in line for selection to Jamaica's squad for the regional limited overs competition, will also be stripped of their match fees from the controversial game.

However, the matter is not final and an official announcement is expected from the JCA within the next two days.

two-match suspension

The suspensions took effect during last week's Red Stripe Twenty20 quarter-finals, resulting in the availability of Brown for selection to the national team with the second of his two-match suspension being served today during the semi-finals, which he will sit out.

Lambert, on the other hand, must hope that his teammates stay true to form and get a win over the Hanover Dolphins in today's semi-finals at Sabina Park and advance to tomorrow's final, which he will sit out to serve his three-match layoff.

Meanwhile, the selectors will meet this afternoon to select the 18 players who will now form the squad for the regional one-day championships in Guyana later this month. They were originally expected to name a 14-man squad earlier this week, but chairman of the selectors, Nehemiah Perry, is in support for the additional players.

"I was never in agreement with a 14-man squad in the first place because when you look at the workload and leading up to the tournament, a lot of the players may start to complain about getting tired," Perry said yesterday.

"It's a tactical decision. We meet tomorrow (today) and we will be selecting the squad in the afternoon, but we cannot announce it until the board signs off on it and then it will become official to the public," he added.