Scorpions close out dismal season against Red Force today
JAMAICA Scorpions, to be led by rookie stand-in Captain Peat Salmon, will look to finish off a disappointing, regional first class campaign with a consolation result when they take on Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Sabina Park.
The action is scheduled to begin this morning at 10:00.
The 31-year-old all-rounder Salmon steps in to fill the captaincy void because West Indies white-ball batsman Brandon King will sit out the contest due to a niggling knee injury.
It’s the second change at the helm this season for the Scorpions after Jermaine Blackwood, who had been poor with the bat and was deemed to have been struggling in the role, relinquished leadership duties to King.
Scorpions Head Coach Andrew Richardson told the Jamaica Observer said that Salmon, who captains St Catherine Cricket Club locally, is equipped to handle the responsibility.
“Peat has our full support. Because of an injury we’ve asked Peat to step up and it’s something he is relishing. He hasn’t captained at the first-class level before, but he has been doing it at the club level for a while,” he said.
Aside from the change at the top, the Scorpions have included Jamaica Defence Force fast bowler Andre Dennis, Lucas CC wicketkeeper Daniel Beckford and spinner Jeavor Royal. While Royal has featured already this season, Dennis make their his first entry in the 13-man squad.
Pacers Marquino Mindley and Derval Green join King on the sidelines.
Both the Scorpions and the Red Force have endured inconsistent results since the competition began in February.
The Scorpions, the only team to have benefitted from playing all matches on home soil this season, have lost four of their six outings, while winning the other two. Their confidence was hit particularly hard by the 212-defeat to defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles last week.
The Red Force, coached by David Furlonge, have won three, while losing twice and drawing a rain-ruined fixture early in the campaign.
Richardson said the Scorpions will have to stick to the game plan against the Joshua Da Silva-captained visitors.
“We have to play the we play to the best of our ability, and if we are able to do so we will put on a much better performance and be closer to that victory mark that we have been chasing,” said the Scorpions coach.
The Red Force team manager Sebastian Edwards said spirits are high after they defeated Combined Campuses and Colleges last time out.
“The confidence within the team is pretty high. We’re just trying to finish the tournament on a high. We had some poor days, but we are a proud team so we are hoping to maintain the winning ways in this final game,” Sebastian said.
Squads: Scorpions — Peat Salmon (captain), Carlos Brown, Javaughn Buchanan, Kirk Mckenzie, Justin Beckford, Abhijai Mansingh, Romaine Morris, Andre Mccarthy, Ojay Shields, Andre Dennis, Jeavor Royal, Ramaal Lewis, Daniel Beckford.
Red Force – Joshua Da Silva (captain), Navin Bidaisee, Cephas Cooper, Amir Jangoo, Jyd Goolie, Jason Mohammed, Vikash Mohan, Terrance Hinds, Khary Pierre, Brian Charles, Anderson Phillips, Kjorn Ottley, Shannon Gabriel.
ROUND SEVEN SCHEDULE (April 17-20) Scorpions vs Red Force CCC vs Harpy Eagles Hurricanes vs Volcanoes WI Academy vs Pride