Jamaica Scorpions Head Coach Robert Haynes says his players are deeply motivated as they face Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the Regional Super50 Cup semi-final match at Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday.

“The mindset is very good… we have a very high level of cohesiveness, the guys are motivated, they want to win, and they are playing good cricket. We are looking to continue that in the semi-finals against the Leewards,” Haynes told the Jamaica Observer.

The Scorpions lost their 2024 tournament opener to Barbados Pride, but have hardly put a foot wrong since, winning four of their six remaining preliminary stage matches — the other two outings finished in no-results due to wet weather. One of those victories came against the Hurricanes on November 15.

The Jamaica team placed second in the preliminary table with 53 points, behind reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (63). The Hurricanes (51 points) ended third, ahead of fellow semi-finalists Barbados Pride (46).

The out-of-contention quartet of Guyana Harpy Eagles (37), Windward Islands Volcanoes (35), West Indies Academy (27) and Combined Campuses and Colleges (24) completed the table.

“After losing the first game to Barbados we realised there were a lot of positives to take from that. It was a game in which the players didn’t give up — we have this no-surrender attitude that we are always going to play to win. From that game it was just about playing positive, sensible cricket,” the experienced Haynes, only a few months into his latest Scorpions coaching stint, explained.

The Scorpions had won the Super50 Cup in 2022, but put up a humiliating title defence last year as the Red Force lifted the crown. Jamaica lost six of seven matches — the other ended in a no-result — to place last in the preliminary stage.

Haynes said the tide turned once they had claimed victory — their first in the Super50 since 2022 — in their second match this season which came against the region’s academy team.

“At first, they really wanted to win a game, and after getting that win there has been no turning back. We have seen improvement in every game,” he said.

“There was a situation in which we were losing wickets in clusters, and after talking to the players they realised they needed better partnerships to fix the situation and now we are having those partnerships every game. As we have discussed in team meetings, we are batting deep, batting out the 50 overs.”

The Scorpions’ batting and bowling responsibilities have been fairly evenly shared among the frontline players.

Sidelined West Indies Test batsman Jermaine Blackwood and returning Captain John Campbell have led the batting, compiling 244 and 201 runs in six innings, respectively.

Left-hand batsman Kirk McKenzie, another with Test experience, has contributed 178. Opener Carlos Brown, the only Scorpions century-maker this season, has a tally of 176.

Pace bowler Marquino Mindley leads the team’s bowling with 16 wickets at an impressive average of 9.12 runs per wicket. Left-arm spinner Jeavor Royal has 11 wickets at an average of 17 and all-rounder Brad Barnes has eight at 22.75.

Haynes, a former West Indies and Jamaica leg spinner, had high praise for left-hand batsman Campbell, who only returned from a 22-month suspension in August after he was found guilty of failing to provide a testing sample to doping control officers in 2022.

“John has been exceptional for someone who has been out of the cricket for two years. He is having great discussions with the players and motivating the guys on the field and off it. He is a leader who believes in leading from the front. He hasn’t had the big scores but at the end of the day, John is a team player,” the coach.

Haynes added: “We are enjoying the cricket and the guys are playing to the best of their abilities. The bowling unit, led by Mindley, along with Royal and Brad, is doing well. Blackwood has been the cornerstone of our batting in terms of batting in the middle, controlling the cricket and building partnerships.”

The Scorpions will have to do without pace bowling all-rounder Odean Smith who has helped to power the lower-order batting with explosive cameos. He is off to fulfill contractual obligation in the Abu Dhabi T10 franchise cricket league, and is replaced by off-spin bowling all-rounder Peat Salmon.

“The sad thing is that we have lost Odean Smith, but we have included Peat Salmon to join and we are hoping Peat can make a difference in a similar fashion as Odean did because he is also a very talented cricketer,” the Scorpions coach told the
Observer.

Elite Jamaica players Rovman Powell and Brandon King, who missed the Super50 preliminary matches due to West Indies white-ball duties against touring England, remain unavailable for the semi-final clash.

The Hurricanes have suffered a big blow of their own as batting all-rounder Justin Greaves was drafted in the West Indies squad for the two-Test series against visitors Bangladesh.

Greaves has been in remarkable form in the Super50 Cup, tallying 401 runs inclusive of three back-to-back hundreds, for the Hurricanes. The next best batsmen for the Hurricanes are Jahmar Hamilton (156 runs) and all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall (145 runs).

Cornwall, the out-of-favour West Indies Test off spinner, leads the tournament’s bowling chart with 19 wickets at 10.78. Jamaican fast bowler Oshane Thomas has been the Hurricanes second best bowling threat with nine wickets at 24.

— Sanjay Myers