Jamaica aim to secure trophy

Front-runners Jamaica have a chance to move ahead of the remaining teams in the Carib Beer Series as they take on Barbados at Kensington Oval. Jamaica need a win in their top-of-the-table, fifth-round contest and Chris Gayle, their captain, believes batting will be the key.

"It's going to be a pretty good game," Gayle said on the eve of the big game. "Barbados are looking to gain on us and we are looking to step up the points standings. We're looking forward to it. We've been playing good cricket. Barbados have been playing good cricket as well. It is going to be interesting."

Vasbert Drakes, coach of Barbados, termed Jamaica 'a funny side' despite their batting prowess. "Sometimes they do not always click, and since Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels are not in the side, it will take a big chunk out of their batting," he said. "It will all come down to how we plan and execute our plans against their batting line-up, and stay as disciplined as possible."

Jamaica gained first-innings points in their previous match against Trinidad & Tobago, which ended in a draw to give them 42 points. Despite completing three straight home matches against Leeward Islands, Combined Campuses & Colleges, and Guyana, Gayle said Jamaican were not going to relax.

"We're going to play attacking cricket ... they [Barbados] are on their home turf. From what I gather, the last time they played here, they scored more than 500 runs. It's going to be 'even-Stevens' going into this game. Hopefully, the approach is going to be just like in Trinidad."

Barbados won their first two matches but were beaten in an upset win by CCC in the third round. A high-scoring draw against Leeward Islands in Montserrat carried them to 30 points.

Both sides have retained the same squads that traveled for their previous matches which means that Jamaica are without Marlon Samuels, and Dwayne Smith continue to lead Barbados in he absence of Corey Collymore.

Both T&T and Windward Islands are geared up for their match at the brand new Windsor Park Stadium. As the competition heads into its late stages, both sides know the importance of maximum points.

Windwards' last game was a ten-wicket win CCC while T&T, Standford 20/20 champions, hope to come back after conceding first-innings points to Jamaica. Windwards have 12 points after having picked up their first points of the tournament with the win over CCC.

For T&T, West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin's century and half-century and Dwayne Bravo's 95 in the last game were positives they can build on. T&T are joint third in the standings on 19 points.

Guyana need to get on the board after losing their first three matches. They take on Providence after a break for the Stanford 20/20, where they failed to defend their title. Guyana have not won a first-class title since 2002. Their captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, is the leading run-scorer in the competition with 314 runs from three matches but has found scant support from the rest of the batsmen. The side is boosted by the return of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sewnarine Chattergoon. Narsingh Deonarine, another international, is unavailable due to a back injury.

It has been tough-going for CCC. Fast bowler Jason Bennett has been their leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets but like his side, inconsistency has been a worry. Eleven of those wickets came in the win over Barbados. There has been little back-up to speak of and even in the batting, the bulk of the runs have come from veteran Floyd Reifer (202 runs). Only three others have passed 100 runs for the competition.