(Jamaica Gleaner) Interim Jamaica Scorpions coach, Robert Haynes, says he wants to get the team playing smart and disciplined cricket as he expects them to be very competitive under his watch, starting with the Regional Four-Day Championship match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes today.
Haynes, who took over the reins last week from Robert Samuels, said that the team lost some games they shouldn’t have and that he will now try to make them more competitive and consistent, especially in their batting. In their last four-day match against Barbados Pride, the Jamaica Scorpions, chasing 107 for victory, were dismissed for 65 at the Three W’s Oval in Barbados.
“Regional batting overall has been on a low, so I wouldn’t just leave it at the feet of Jamaica’s cricket. But for us (Jamaica) to get back to being more competitive, we have to play smart cricket,” the former Jamaica and West Indies spinner said.
“We have had games where we were in a position to win but we ended losing. So we are looking for people who have the discipline to go on and make big scores,” said Haynes who added that he wanted the bowlers to be more disciplined and be able to maintain a certain amount of pressure on opposing batsmen.
“Once I am involved, the cricket will be positive, however. I am not going to dwell on the years gone by, I am going to look to the future,” he continued.
Speaking with The Gleaner at Sabina Park yesterday, the 54-year-old Haynes said training had been going very well and that he is encouraged by the interest the players showed in their personal and team development.
“We have been discussing the cricket, and I am amazed at how the players have opened up to me. They are coming to me and telling me their faults and what they need to do and how we will go about doing it.
“It is important that they know what to do, and if we can get these things right, we will move forward. Players need to understand that four-day cricket is not one-day or T20. They must have the application and dedication that are necessary,” he reasoned.
“My job is to help them play as best as possible, and once I can get 100 per cent effort from these youngsters, I am sure they’ll do great things. It is just to get everything right so that when we go into the game on Friday, we can challenge the Windwards and beat them.”
The Windwards won their last game against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force while Jamaica Scorpions had the match to win against Barbados Pride but ended up losing it, so the pressure is on us,” he said.
Jamaica Scorpions squad: Paul Palmer Jr (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, John Campbell, Nikita Miller, Chadwick Walton, Oshane Thomas, Jermaine Levy, Dennis Bulli, Rovman Powell, Reynard Leveridge, Assad Fuddadin, Fabian Allen, and Aldane Thomas.
