Scorpions hungry for another Super50 title

The Jamaica Scorpions are set to leave the island on Monday for St Kitts ahead of their opening Regional Super50 game against the Barbados Pride at Warner Park on November 7.

New head coach Andre Coley spoke to reporters at a press briefing at Sabina Park on Thursday, and he has reiterated that the team is ready to put up a good showing and go one step better than their semi-final place last season.

"Our aim, obviously, is to win the tournament, but it is also important for us to be consistent and play good cricket. We have a solid core of players with a mixture of youth and experience, so we should do well as a unit," said Coley.

Since beating Trinidad & Tobago to win the title back in the 2011-2012 season, The Scorpions have failed to hoist the limited-overs trophy, but Coley believes this year might be the year once the team execute its plans.

"The key to winning this title is consistency. Once we play to our true potential, I am confident we can come away with the title," he said.

The Scorpions will have to do the business without their leading wicket-taker from last year, Nikita Miller, who has retired from the game and has joined Coley on the coaching staff as an assistant.

They will also be without fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who picked up 11 wickets in last year's tournament. However, newly appointed captain Rovman Powell believes that the bowlers in the squad are competent and can do just as good a job.

"We have a good all-round bowling unit. If the wickets in St Kitts are spinning, we have excellent spinners such as Dennis Bulli, Christopher Lamont, and Jamie Merchant; and if the wickets are seaming and taking pace, we have the likes of Oshane Thomas, Marquino Mindley, and Derval Green at our disposal. So I am confident the guys can deliver the goods when the time comes," said Powell.

SQUAD

The full Jamaica Scorpions squad reads Rovman Powell (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkruma Bonner, Dennis Bulli, Assad Fudadin, Nicholson Gordon, Derval Green, Christopher Lamont, Andre McCarthy, Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Dennis Smith, Aldane Thomas, and Oshane Thomas.

The Jamaica Scorpions have been drawn in Group 'A' along with Barbados, Leeward Islands, Combined Campuses and Colleges, and Canada.