JCA Super League continues today with three games
Northern Panthers enter the eighth-round Jamaica Cricket Association two-day Super League match against hosts Eastern Eagles at Melbourne Oval aware that only an outright win will ensure they remain in pole position.
Play is scheduled to start today at 10:00 am.
After seven rounds, the Panthers are top of the six-team league table with 22 points, only one point ahead of reigning two-time champions Central Titans.
The Eagles are back in fourth with 11 points.
The top team, after the completion of 10 rounds of matches, will lift the Super League crown.
Northern Panthers and Eastern Eagles met last weekend in a rescheduled fourth-round match in St Ann, with the former taking first-innings honours at the end of a drawn contest. But the Titans capitalised to earn maximum six points when they beat third-placed Western Warriors (11 points) in a simultaneous fixture.
“Things are very interesting after that outright win by the Titans last weekend. There are three rounds remaining, and they [the Titans] are not a team you can discount because they are a champion team,” said Cleon Smith, Panthers head coach.
“We have to keep doing what we are doing; we haven’t lost a game. But, yes, the current situation puts pressure on us to get an outright win to ensure we stay ahead,” he added.
David Bernard, head coach of the Eagles, conceded his team has played below its full potential, but is optimistic that an improved showing is just around the corner.
“So far the players haven’t met their objectives as individuals and as a team. This weekend is another opportunity to get as close as possible to those objectives,” he told the Observer.
“We are some way off the pace of the leaders, but this competition is also intended to get players performing at levels that will open doors to national selection,” Bernard, the former Jamaica and West Indies all-rounder, continued.
At Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium, the visiting Central Titans team will have the chance to complete the double over the Warriors.
In the round’s other encounter, Southern Seals welcome Combined Universities and Colleges (CUC) to French Park in Manchester.
CUC are fifth with nine points, while the Seals are last with eight points.
Their rescheduled clash last weekend ended in a no result.
Today’s games
Eagles vs Panthers @ Melbourne Oval
Seals vs Combined Universities @ French Park
Warriors vs Titans @ Trelawny Stadium
All games set to start at 10:00 am
—Sanjay Myers