Campbell boosts Scorpions ahead of tough clash

Man-of-the-Match, batsman John Campbell, has described Jamaica Scorpions' victory over Guyana Jaguars in return-leg action of the WICB Regional Super50 as a major boost in their quest to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

Jamaica led by 42, and a four-wicket haul from Campbell defeated Guyana by 20 runs in the contest, which was played at Kensington Oval.

Electing to bat, the Scorpions first posted 255, with Campbell playing second fiddle to United States-native, opener Steven Taylor, who got 86, and AndrÈ McCarthy, who made 45.

The Robert Samuels-coached unit then returned to limit Guyana to 235, with Campbell, bowling part-time off-spin, getting good support from fellow part-timer, McCarthy, one for 15 off five overs, and all-rounder Rovman Powell, one for 32 off 6.4.

"It's a big boost for us beating Guyana twice," stated Campbell. "It was a crucial win as basically, it could be described as a final whereby we knew that if we had won, we would have all but knocked them out of the semi-finals."

The victory, which was Jamaica's fourth in six outings with the other two ending in defeats, also maintained their position of second in Group B behind tournament co-hosts Barbados Pride.

CLOSE TO QUALIFICATION

It also put Jamaica to within a point of qualification of the semi-finals, with two return-leg group matches to go.

Their next matchup will be today against the Pride, who defeated them in their first meeting with their final group game being against ICC Americas.

Campbell, who at the start of the tournament was struggling with the bat while opening, the innings, but after three matches was pushed down the order to number six, in identifying where the team came up well, pointed to their efforts in the field.

"We just stuck with our plans as we weren't necessarily getting quick wickets, and it turned around the game."

Campbell, who is also vice-captain of the team, in the meanwhile, was happy with his returns and said that he was looking forward to their next match.

"I am very happy with my performance. It has been going well as this is my third innings at number six, and I have got two good scores. I even wanted to be at the end, but unfortunately, that did not happen. But the contribution was good enough."

He added: "I also thought we bowled really well. Jerome Taylor and all the guys. It was a very good effort. We have Barbados next, and definitely, that will be a tough game. We just need to continue to stick to our plans."

SCOREBOARD

SCORPIONS

+C Walton c Jacobs b Reifer 6

S Taylor run out 86

J Blackwood c Jacobs b Reifer 5

A McCarthy c Beaton b Barnwell 45

D Thomas c Bishoo b Barnwell 17

J Campbell run out 42

R Powell c Jacobs b Beaton 24

D Jacobs c (sub) Hetmyer b Beaton 3

J Taylor b Reifer 8

*N Miller c and b Reifer 1

R Leveridge not out 1

Extras: (lb4, w13) 17

TOTAL: (all out, 49.4 overs) 255

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-39, 3-129, 4-154, 5-182, 6-229, 7-239, 8-245, 9-254, 10-255.

Bowling: Reifer 8.4-1-38-4 (w4), Beaton 8-1-33-2 (w5), Jacobs 8-0-54-0, Permaul 8-0-44-0, Bishoo 7-0-37-0, Barnwell 10-0-45-2 (w4).

JAGUARS

A Fudadin run out 57

R Chandrika run out 13

R Reifer c Taylor b Campbell 54

*L Johnson c Powell b McCarthy 3

S Chanderpaul c Taylor b Campbell 17

C Barnwell lbw b Campbell 0

S Jacobs st Walton b Campbell 4

+A Bramble c Miller b Powell 39

V Permaul c wkp Walton b Taylor 30

D Bishoo run out 0

R Beaton not out 1

Extras: (lb6, w11) 17

TOTAL: (all out, 49.4 overs) 235

Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-124, 3-129, 4-147, 5-147, 6-164, 7-165, 8-224, 9-226, 10-235.

Bowling: Taylor 10-1-44-1 (w3), Leveridge 6-2-26-0 (w2), Powell 6-0-32-1 (w2), Jacobs 2-0-14-0 (w1), Miller 10-0-55-0, Campbell 10-0-43-4 (w3), McCarthy 5-0-15-1.

Result: Scorpions won by 20 runs.

Man-of-the-Match: John Campbell.