John Campbell, Jamaica Scorpions captain (Photo: CWI Media)
March 17, 2025
Red-hot Campbell insists boosting Scorpions is top priority
Left-handed batsman John Campbell insists his focus is more on delivering “good performances” for Jamaica Scorpions and less on feeding the desire to return to the West Indies set-up.
The 31-year-old Jamaica captain has been in scintillating form in the regional first-class tournament, scoring two hundreds and as many half-centuries in four matches. He has tallied 402 runs at an average of 57.42.
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Before he had been suspended by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission in 2022 for failing to provide a testing sample to doping control officers, he played 20 Tests, six One-Day Internationals, and two Twenty20 matches for West Indies.
His form has been hardly anything but immaculate since he returned to competitive cricket last year.
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Last week, Campbell scored 101 — his second century of the regional four-day campaign — to lead the Scorpions to a dramatic 40-run victory over West Indies Academy in the fifth-round match at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
With two rounds of matches remaining to end the season in April, the dashing batsman told the Jamaica Observer that there is a hunger for more runs.
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“Obviously, I’d love to get back to playing international cricket, but I’m mainly focusing on getting in good performances in these last two rounds because whenever I score runs I put my team in a good position to win,” he said after the Scorpions wrapped up victory against the academy team on Saturday.
Setting a high standard for himself, his main criticism is that he hasn’t got even bigger scores.
“Mentally, I’m in a good space. Whenever I go out to bat, I’m clear on how I’m going about my innings.
“I’ve been disappointed after getting out because most times I’ve been well set,” he explained.
The Scorpions are next set to face hosts Trinidad and Tobago Red Force from April 2-5.
Campbell, who missed the fourth-round loss to titleholders Guyana Harpy Eagles at Sabina Park in Kingston due to a groin strain and batted at number nine in the second innings versus West Indies Academy, says his recovery is “a work in progress”. It’s unlikely he’ll feature in the Jamaica Cricket Association Senior Cup during the break between regional first-class matches.
Turning attention to the collective effort against West Indies Academy, and some of the shortcomings — particularly in the batting department — over the first five rounds of matches, Campbell acknowledged there is scope for improvement.
Against the academy team, the Scorpions were 242-4 and appeared set for a score over 400 runs, before being dismissed for 375 in the first innings.
They then secured a big first-innings lead of 164 runs when they bowled out their opponents for 211, but their batting crumbled for 191 in the second innings, opening the door for an improbable WI Academy win.
The Scorpions were pushed hard, but held their nerve to scrape the win as the academy team’s batsmen buckled and were all out for 315 — the last five wickets tumbling for 19 runs on the final morning.
“We’ll need to improve in all areas. We’ve been doing good things but we haven’t been doing them for long periods. If we can stretch these good periods for a longer time we’ll be good,” captain said.
“Against [WI Academy] I think we were on course to score 400+ [runs], but I’ll put it down to inexperience. In the second innings there was bad shot selection from us as batsmen because we didn’t pay attention to the fine details.
“If, as bowlers, [we] can bowl in the [right] areas for longer periods we’ll build more pressure and that’ll create more chances,” Campbell explained.
—Sanjay Myers
