Barbados cricket Association article.
Bridgetown, Barbados - Anxious to atone for an unaccustomed two straight defeats and generally disappointing batting, title holders ICBL Empire have made four changes to the team for the vital fifth series BCA Elite division match against Championship leaders Brathwaite Construction/Crane Resort St. Catherine at Bayfield, starting on Saturday.
The changes are understandable and no doubt also triggered by the fact that Empire are languishing in the bottom half of the ten-team Championship after lifting the title so comprehensively last season.
Recalled are 25-year-old Trinidad & Tobago left-hander Kjron Ottley, who played the last of 13 first-class matches in March this year and fellow batsmen Andre Roach and Antonio Alleyne, while all-rounder Carleon Brome Jr is in for his first match of the season following a commendable stint in England for Four Oaks Saint Club in the Warwickshire Cricket League, which brought him over 1 000 runs.
They replace veteran Shawn Graham, Kodi Phillips, Kamal Sealy and coach Jason Haynes, a former Barbados captain, who has been troubled by a knee injury and played in only the last series against Sagicor Life UWI at 3Ws Oval.
Empire's batting woes are clearly reflected in the performances of Graham (50 runs; ave: 8.33), Phillips (86 runs; ave: 12.28) and Sealy (95 runs; ave: 15.89). Phillips went to the crease eight times, while former national player Graham and Sealy each had seven knocks.
Ottley, Roach and Alleyne all played in the third round match against CounterPoint Wanderers at Bank Hall but while it was the first of the season for Ottley and Roach, Alleyne had been in the side for the first two matches as well and is struggling with an aggregate of 80 including a highest of 55 in the second innings against BDFSP on home turf, at an average of 16.00.
Roach made 18 and eight, while Ottley scored one and 11 before leaving for Jamaica on business.
It is no secret that Empire have been the hardest hit team from the start of the season, either because of players on contracts overseas or having left the club after a memorable 100th anniversary year when they created a modern era record of winning their first six matches en route to a 21st title and their first in a decade.
Current Barbados all-rounders, Kevin Stoute and Roston Chase, as well as former West Indies Under-19 team fast bowling all-rounder Justin Greaves are all playing in England, former Barbados captain and West Indies batting all-rounder Ryan Hinds has been embraced by UWI as a player and assistant coach after 11 seasons at Bank Hall, experienced former national batsman Alcindo Holder is now with St. Catherine and former West Indies Under-19 team left-arm pacer Jerome Jones is representing Massy United Insurance Wildey.
Stoute, Chase and Greaves are expected to return home between September 7 and 9, which would put the selectors in a quandary for the Series 6 match against arch-rivals Massy Stores Spartan at Bank Hall on September 5, 12 and 13.
Jamal "Bert" Smith, the forthright Empire captain, however, remains optimistic of a change in fortunes for the rest of the season.
"I expected that we would be in a difficult position early in the season but at the end of the day, there are still five rounds of matches left and you don't know what can happen if you gain some momentum," Smith told BCAcricket.org.
Smith said that apart from the indifferent batting, Empire had been let down by poor catching.
"The batting has been brittle, largely due to inexperience but we have dropped too many catches and the awareness in the field and game situation are not there.
"I, however, cannot see us being in the 'drop' zone for much longer."
Smith, himself with first-class experience, has been his team's leading batsman with 272 runs including two half-centuries, at an average of 34.
Defeats by seven wickets against Wanderers and 97 runs against UWI represented the first time since 2011 that Empire had lost two top league matches in succession. Then, they went under by six wickets to BDFSP at Bank Hall in Series 2 and by five wickets against ESA Field Pickwick at Foursquare Oval.
Ironically, like Empire, BDFSP, despite a memorable innings and 109-run win over Sierka Rentals Maple at Trents in the last series, as well as Pickwick, are also languishing in the bottom four of the Points table, wary that rock-bottom Guardian General Barbados Youth, who have lost all of their matches, are exempt from demotion.
Empire and BDFSP are on 35 points with the former earning only four batting points - the joint second least with Pickwick.
St. Catherine, the only team with three wins, are on 60 points - ten ahead of second-placed UWI.
The other Series 5 matches are: BDFSP v UWI at Paragon; Spartan v Wildey at Queen's Park; Pickwick v Barbados Youth at Foursquare Oval; Wanderers v Maple at Dayrells Road.
Start: Noon.
POINTS TABLE
Tabulate under: M-matches, W-won, L-lost, T-tied, D-drawn, ND-no-decision, MPTS-match points minus batting and bowling, BATP-batting points, BOWP-bowling points, TP-total points.
TEAMS M W L T D ND MPTS BATP BOWP TP
St. Catherine 4 3 0 0 1 0 39 9 12 60
UWI 4 2 0 0 2 0 27 7 16 50
Wanderers 4 1 0 0 3 0 21 11 16 48
Wildey 4 2 1 0 1 0 25 5 16 46
Maple 4 2 1 0 1 0 25 5 11 41
Spartan 4 1 1 0 2 0 16 8 12 36
BDFSP 4 1 1 0 2 0 14 9 12 35
Empire 4 1 2 0 1 0 15 4 16 35
Pickwick 4 0 2 0 2 0 8 4 11 23
Barbados Youth 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 16 18
NB: Barbados Youth are exempt from demotion.
First Published On bcacricket.org.