– Batting 50 overs is the main aim, says J’ca Coach
By Brandon Corlette
The Shemaine Campbelle-led Guyana team are resolved to come out on top in their second match encounter with the experienced and assured Stafanie Taylor-led Jamaica team.
Shemaine Campbelle would need support in the batting department
The two teams meet head-on today at the Everest Cricket Club from 9:30h local time, and there can be only one winner of this contest.
On the eve of this match, Guyana Captain Shemaine Campbelle and Jamaica Head Coach Cleon Smith spoke with Guyana Times Sport with
Campbelle declaring that her team’s batting performance requires improvement in time for the Jamaica clash.
“Batters need to put runs on the board, and this has been a problem in the past; and there is still room for improvement,” Campbelle highlighted.
In their first match, a tussle against the T&T Divas, Guyana suffered a 69-run defeat. Reflecting on that loss, Campbelle said the new-ball bowlers had given the team a good start, but the middle overs had lacked that wicket-taking ability, leading Guyana to lose momentum in the latter part of the bowling innings.
The areas that did not click for Guyana would be required to so do when they meet a confident Jamaica team.
Jamaica Head Coach Cleon Smith
Jamaica Head Coach, Cleon Smith, took time after his team’s practice at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) to share his thoughts on their impending second match.
“We are confident! We believe in our training programme, and both teams are familiar with the players”, Smith declared.
He added that Jamaica have a specific game plan that always works for the team, and they are sticking to it.
The Jamaicans are fresh from an 80-run win over Windward Islands in a match played at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground at Bourda. Reminiscing on that match, Smith said the women executed the main game plan — to bat their full quota of 50 overs. The Jamaicans had registered a good showing with the bat, scoring 236-8 against a Windward Islands team that included spin ace Afy Fletcher.
Explosive Windies batters Natasha Mc Clean and opener Rashada Williams are expected to bat at the top of the Jamaica order. This duo had added 59 runs to the score in the first match. Then there are Windies Captain Stafanie Taylor, who bats at number three, and Windies middle order batters Chadean Nation and all-rounder Chinelle Henry included in the formidable batting lineup.
The 23-year-old fast bowler Chinelle Henry, who has played five ODIs for Windies, will spearhead Jamaica’s bowling unit, assisted by right-arm off-break bowler Vanessa Watts, who grabbed 4-25 in round one, and the veteran Stafanie Taylor, among others.
The first match in this tournament, played at Everest between Barbados and Leeward Islands, saw the spinners dominating on a dry track, with off-spinner Hayley Matthews grabbing a seven-wicket haul.
Everest, a slow turning surface, will offer assistance to the spinners, and both teams have an adequate supply of such talent. The Guyana team have spinners in Plaffiana Millington, Kaysia Schultz, Sheneta Grimmond, and Mandy Mangru, which may prove effective at this venue.
