Rating the Jamaica Scorpions

THE JAMAICA Scorpions ended their participation in the Regional Super50 tournament on Thursday, beaten by the narrowest of margins by the Guyana Jaguars.

I was disappointed, naturally, but I wont vent my frustration in this article. In this piece, I want to play the role of coach and give a grade to all who participated for the Scorpions in that semi-final.

There were, of course, many others who featured for the Scorpions throughout the tournament. This would include those who started the tournament but left for other international assignments as well as those fringe players who played a few games.

The time to assess those other players will come, but as I said, let us take a look at those who played in that semi-final loss in batting order. Chadwick Walton gets 2 out of 10. He had a horrible tournament with the bat, averaging 9.88. Chadwick is too good to be written off, but it must be time for him to reassess his game. He may just have to restrain himself from playing so many shots too early. His keeping was good but not special.

John Campbell gets 7.5/10. He scored 298 runs with an average of 42.57. That’s very commendable, but with John, you always feel he short-changed himself. He doesn’t make the opposition work hard enough for his wicket.

Kieran Powell’s Windies spot at the top of the order in both Test and ODIs is up for grabs. John has the talent to take that spot, but he needs to show a tad more hunger.

Jermaine Blackwood scored 320 runs for an average of 40. He gets a 7/10. Like John Campbell, Blackwood needs to put a bigger price on his wicket. Too often, he gets himself out. I did see, though, where he attempted to be a little more conservative and concentrate harder. His tendency to hit the ball in the air has brought him many runs but also many dismissals. My advice is to just cut out that lofted drive for a while. He is good enough to dominate bowling without that risky shot.

Andre Mcarthy was the team’s top batsman. He scored 334 runs at 47.71. He gets 8.5/10. He batted with skill and genuine maturity. He is among the most consistent List A players around for a few seasons. The one blot against him this time around is not making a century.

Brandon King was disappointing averaging only 23. He gets a 3/10. Sometimes I think Brandon gets caught in two minds as to whether to go all-out attack or be a steady accumulator. Still think he is one for the future.

Nkrume Bonner made

167 runs at 41.76. He gets a 6/10. I think the think tank missed a trick with Bonner.

He should never be batting at six. He is arguably the most technically sound of all the batsmen in the team and should be batting no lower than 4. He is also the one that needs the most time before he gets going. The team would be better served with him batting earlier and the ball-beaters batting around him. A few extra hours to work on his fitness wouldn’t hurt.

Derval Green the all-rounder again disappointed with the bat. He is good enough to average 30. I saw enough to suggest that once he decides to play fewer shots too early, he will contribute more. His bowling was okay but not special this time around. Seven wickets at 5.38 is not him at his best. He gets 6/10.

With the ball, Jerome Taylor was very good. Indeed, he may have bowled himself into contention for the World Cup. Seven wickets at 4.33 shows he is ready.

He gets

8.5/10.

Nikita

Miller did what Nikita Miller does. He is almost always excellent. He was the team’s leading wicket-taker, with 13 wickets at 3.53. He also gets 8.5/10.

The other left-arm spinner, Christopher Lamont was excellent with his economy rate, which was 3.78. He took seven wickets, which was also good. He has great control, but I feel that if he flights the ball a tad more, he could be a factor in fourday as well as one-day cricket. He gets 7.5/10. Finally, Gordon Bryan in his debut season got 6 wickets at 5.07. That’s reasonable. There is a lot to like about him. He has nice pace and gets movement. He will only improve. He gets a 6/10. The four-day tournament is just around the corner and I can’t wait!