JAMAICA HAVE a tricky assignment when they face the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC)in the third round of the WICB regional four-day competition, starting today at the Three Ws Oval.
As holders and current leaders in the championship, Jamaica are highly favoured to overpower the CCC, but they should guard themselves against over-confidence and take serious note of their hosts' underlying strength.
The Jamaicans will be confident as they lead the table on 18 points. They came from behind to beat the Leeward Islands in the first round at Basseterre and in the second round they took first innings points in their drawn match, which was badly affected by rain, against Trinidad and Tobago at Port-of-Spain.
Convincing victory
The CCC have been buoyed by a convincing 96-run victory in their first match of the season against Guyana in the previous round, and they are tied for third on 12 points with Windward Islands.
Last season, when the two sides met for the first time, the Jamaicans thumped the CCC by 10 wickets to help launch their build-up towards capturing the Championship, but there are indications that the home team should be far more competitive.
The Jamaicans are fortified by the addition of the returning West Indies trio of Xavier Marshall, Nikita Miller and Brendan Nash in place of Wavell Hinds, Horace Miller and Jason Dawes.
All three will be hoping for a strong showing against the CCC to emphasise their credentials to the West Indies' selectors ahead of the first Test against England, which starts at Sabina Park on February 4.
Marshall and Nash would give greater backbone to the batting and left-arm spin bowler Miller will be another weapon which captain Tamar Lambert could exploit to make headway.
West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor returned from New Zealand with an injury and was not considered for selection.
West Indies captain Chris Gayle and fast bowler Daren Powell chose to rest, while wicketkeeper/batsman Carlton Baugh and batsman Shawn Findlay were not considered because of their poor form in New Zealand.
The CCC, a collection of students from tertiary education institutions across the Caribbean, will want to continue their strong start to the season, after they drew a bye in the first round.
In the match against the Guyanese, Nekoli Parris fulfilled some of his promise with a solid second-innings hundred that effectively batted the visitors out of the match.
Although the CCC claimed victory, the bowling could still pack a little more punch, and against a side that is known for its ruthless batting at times, they will have to work much harder to get results.
All eyes will be on Kevin McLean, following his big effort in the previous round which earned him a late call-up, following the withdrawal of Nelon Pascal, for the West Indies A team, that will face England next Thursday in St Kitts.
Squads
COMBINED CAMPUSES AND COLLEGES (from): Simon Jackson (captain), Ryan Austin, Khismar Catlin, Romel Currency, Craig Emmanuel, Kavesh Kantasingh, Kevin McLean, Jamel Noel, Nekoli Parris, Omar Phillips, Floyd Reifer, Chadwick Walton, Kurt Wilkinson.
JAMAICA (from): Tamar Lambert (captain), Dave Bernard Jr, Odean Brown, Keith Hibbert, Danza Hyatt, Xavier Marshall, Nikita Miller, Brendan Nash, Donovan Pagon, Brenton Parchment, Andrew Richardson, Andre Russell, Gavin Wallace.