KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – If the Jamaica Scorpions are to be successful in this year’s Regional Super50 competition, head coach Robert Samuels believes that creating a strong team chemistry will be key.
Samuels said as part of preparations for the tournament which runs from October 3 to 28, the 14-man squad was spending quality time together in an effort to strengthen their bond.
“We are spending time with each other getting to know each other, trying to get the chemistry right to go out on the park and play.
“The first thing I need out there is a team, and once I have a team out there I know Jamaica Scorpions are going to do well,” Samuels, the former Jamaica and West Indies opener said during an interview after training at Kensington Park on Tuesday.
The Scorpions, who lost the 2016-17 final to the Barbados Pride before crashing out at the preliminary stage last season, are in Zone B along with the Pride, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), and United States. Their first game is against the CCC on October 4.
Samuels maintained that preparations had been going well, even though the core of the team missed a significant part of training due to the Caribbean Premier League.
“The guys are not short on cricket because of the CPL, but in terms of playing together as a team, we are a little bit short there.
“The preparation hasn’t been bad, [but] it was hampered a little bit because we had several players in the CPL, so we were looking at other players,” he explained.
“We had some practice games and [Nkrumah] Bonner, for example, got two hundreds, [Paul] Palmer got a hundred and Gordon Bryan bowled well.”
Samuels, who played six Tests for the West Indies for an average of 37.2, added that preparation up to the team’s departure will culminate in a squad match at the end of the week.