Tamar Lambert ... Jamaica's cricket captain.
Champions Jamaica and Barbados will renew their age-old rivalry when they clash in a top-of-the-table contest at Kensington Park in the fourth round of the 2009 WICB Four-Day Championships.
The teams, who have over the years treated fans to some breathtaking cricket, will meet in the feature game of the round.
Jamaica, who have so far chalked up 30 points in their first three outings, including outright wins over the Leeward Islands and the Combined Colleges and Campuses, and first-innings points over Trinidad and Tobago, lead the seven-team championship ahead of the Barbadians, who have 27 points.
Match worth watching
"It's going to be a match worth going miles to see, as both teams are playing some good cricket," said Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert yesterday. "With a near-perfect performance in our first three outings, we are satisfied, but come tomorrow, we hope to up the ante a bit."
Lambert has to his credit 15 half-centuries and one century in 30 first-class matches, but is among a slew of Jamaican batsman who are yet to register three figures in the 2009 campaign.
The Jamaican selectors, led by new chairman Nehemiah Perry, who replaced long-standing chairman Ruddy Williams recently, named a balanced 13-man squad yesterday for the encounter, with West Indies wicketkeeper and batsman Carlton Baugh Jr failing to make the cut for the match, Wavell Hinds and teenage opener, Horace Miller, making a return, and off-spinner Bevon Brown getting his first call-up of the season.
Returning players
Hinds makes a return after taking a one-week break to attend a family funeral, while Miller returns after being dropped for the last match against the Combined Colleges and Campuses to accommodate the return of West Indies batsmen Xavier Marshall and Brendon Nash, who have both been named in the West Indies' 14-man squad for the first Digicel Test against England.
Barbados, who arrived in the island on Tuesday, are confident of beating Jamaica for the third year in a row. Their batting is strong. It is led by West Indies batsman Ryan Hinds, whose 240 in the last round against the Leeward Islands was the second-highest score by a Barbadian in regional first-class competitions.
Former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes' 246 against Windward Islands at Kensington Oval in 1992 is the highest.
The Bajans have made three changes to their 14-man squad which defeated the Leewards. Opening batsman Dale Richards and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn are in the West Indies squad and are not available.
Roach, who was originally selected for the West Indies 'A' side to oppose England, is injured.
Squads
Jamaica: Tamar Lambert (captain), Brenton Parchment, Danza Hyatt, Donovan Pagon, David Bernard, Wavell Hinds, Keith Hibbert, Bevon Brown, Andrew Richardson, Odean Brown, André Russell and Nikita Miller.
Manager: Derron Dixon
Coach: Junior Bennett.
Barbados: Jason Haynes (captain), Tino Best, Rashidi Boucher, Patrick Browne, Jonathan Carter, Nikolai Charles, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Ryan Hinds, Rohan Nurse, Dwayne Smith, Kevin Stoute, Barrington Yearwood.
Manager: Livingstone Coppin.
Coach: Vasbert Drakes.