Coley confident ahead of regional tournament

Jamaica Scorpions head coach Andre Coley is urging his charges to be consistent and accept responsibility when his team bow into action on Thursday for the start of the 2020 West Indies Championship.

The team was scheduled to leave the island today for Trinidad and Tobago, where the John Campbell-led squad will square off with the Red Force at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

Coley, who will be at the helm in the longer format for the first time, believes he has the right balance that will see the Scorpions improve from their fifth-place finish last season.

“We have been preparing as best as we can and the spirit has been good in the camp. I am confident that the players selected will give a good account of themselves, and we are also confident that we will have a good start against Trinidad,” said Coley.

The former Windward Islands coach added that the team has set itself a few goals, and once those goals are executed properly, there is no doubt that the Scorpions will improve on their three wins and seven losses from last season.

“From a batting standpoint, we want to ensure that we bat for at least a day or more. Once we do that, I know we will always put up a challenging total. It’s the same thing when we bowl, we want to put the opposition under pressure and restrict them in less than a day. Once we do those things consistently and keep things simple, we will see positive results,” Coley noted.

Not wanting to put too much pressure on the team, Coley says the aim is obviously to win the four-day championship. However, he is keen on getting the players to better understand their roles, which he believes is the key component to delivering a title.

“We have a mix of youth and experience, and it’s really about getting the team to gel and for them to understand their role; the players need to keep it simple. I would love for us to be about mid-table after the first half of the season and once we are there about, we stand a good chance of going all the way,” added Coley.

GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

A lot of the responsibility will fall heavily on the shoulders of first-time captain John Campbell, who played just three matches for Jamaica last season following senior West Indies duties.

The Scorpions will, however, miss last year’s leading run scorer Brandon King for at least the first match, as he has been called up to the senior West Indies squad to face Ireland in the first two ODIs, starting on Tuesday. They will also miss the bat of last year’s third-leading run scorer Chadwick Walton and former captain Paul Palmer Jnr.

To make matters worse, they could also be without another batsman in Nkrumah Bonner, who is said to be struggling with a virus.

With this in mind, Coley says the team has the adequate cover to fill those gaps.

“We have players such as Alwyn Williams. who will open the batting with John Campbell plus we have a couple of wicket-keepers who are batting well. We also have our experienced campaigners such as Rovman Powell, Jermaine Blackwood and Assad Fudadin,” Coley shared.

Meanwhile, the bowling department is expected to be spearheaded by left-arm slow bowler Dennis Bulli, once he has been passed fit following a shoulder injury. The likes of Derval Green, Marquino Mindley, Nicholson Gordon and rookie spinner Patrick Harty Jr should also factor in the early stages of the competition.