-as One-day tournament starts
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – New TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Three-day Cup champions Jamaica clash with limited overs title-holders Trinidad and Tobago in a grudge match when the One-day tournament starts today.
In spite of losing badly to T&T in their first-round match in the three-day competition, Jamaica went on to become tournament winners when they beat Barbados in their last match and snatched a thrilling championship win on the final afternoon on Monday.
T&T had entered the fifth round last weekend only needing first innings points against lowly-placed Guyana but were surprisingly beaten on first innings and held to a draw. T&T finished the tournament as the only undefeated team and the anguish of losing the three-day title is set to motivate them to a strong performance against the Jamaicans at Up Park Camp today.
“The team is ready and raring to go,” T&T manager William Wallace told CMC Sport yesterday.
“The (T&T) players are anxious to pick themselves up from Monday’s disappointment and they are thinking very positively now,” he added.
The Jamaicans, who rebounded from their opening three-day game loss to reel off impressive wins against Guyana, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands and Barbados, finished the tournament with 48 points, three ahead of T&T, who had crushed them by an innings and 64 runs in the first round.
Jamaica’s coach Andre Coley declared yesterday that his players have put their three-day success behind them and are now focused on trying to complete the double.
“It is the start of a new competition and the players are looking forward to this version, it’s a rematch that we are ready for and positive about,” he said.
Coley will be demanding a more clinical approach from the Jamaicans in the abbreviated game.
“Because of the nature of the game, we have to make sure we bat out our overs. When we bowl, the margin of error will have to be small so we have to be very consistent and we have to be good in the field,” he said.
“They showed character (to win the three-day title) and I am looking for very good things from them again in the one-dayers,” Coley added.
The T&T manager played down any passionate sense of revenge coming from his camp — against the Jamaicans — and suggested that both teams are poised for a good showing.
“We can look at it both ways, Jamaica will be very confident as the new three-day champions but we will also be confident knowing we have beaten them.
“Having said that, they (Jamaica) have been a team on-the-improve and I can’t take anything away from them, it will be a good game,” Wallace said.
T&T emerged one-day champions in Barbados last year when they defeated the hosts in the final and are going for a repeat.
In today’s other opening limited overs matches, the Leeward Islands face Guyana at Chedwin Park and Windward Islands meet Barbados at Kensington Park.
In the corresponding three-day fixtures earlier this month, the Leewards had recovered from trailing on first innings to beat Guyana, while Barbados defeated the Windward Islands.
Barbados, with 31 points, had placed third behind Jamaica (48) and T&T (45) in the three-day competition, followed in the standings by the Leewards (24), Guyana (22) and Windwards (16).
