Jermaine Lannaman, Star Writer

After surprisingly losing to the Windward Islands in their opening game Group A game of the 2010 WICB President's Cup one-day tournament, Jamaica must go for a win when they face rivals Trinidad and Tobago today at Sabina Park.

Jamaica who went down to a five-wicket loss to the Windward Islands in their opening fixture on Thursday at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, will be looking to Gayle, Samuels, bowlers Nikita Miller and Krishmar Santokie, and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr to jump start their campaign.

Trinidad, on the other hand, who defeated the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by eight wicket in their opening fixture, and could all but qualify for the semi-finals with a win be looking to Bravo and his younger brother, Darren, who scored a century in on Thursday, Pollard, Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barrath to pull them through.

"Trinidad will a tough opponent, but we have been playing good cricket, and we have to just go out there and play good consistent cricket," said Junior Bennett, coach of Jamaica after their shock loss on Thursday.

"We just have to take a look at what the conditions will look like on Saturday, select our best possible team and back ourselves," he added.

In their first outing, Jamaica, after winning the toss and electing to bat, despite weather forecasts for intermittent showers, looked pedestrian to say the least in posting 223 off their allotted 50 overs, with Samuels, Brendan Nash and Tamar Lambert, all failing to hit a boundary during their stays at the crease.

batting heroics

In fact, had it not been for Gayle's batting heroics towards the end of the game, in which he hit 23 off the final over on his way to a topscore of 58, Jamaica could have made far less.

Come today, however, with the Sabina park pitch expected to be a bit truer, and the batting line-up reshuffled, if not changed, with all-rounder Andre Russell getting a look in, Jamaica will be looking forward to an improved showing, against Trinidad's more than capable bowling line-up. Trinidad's line-up which includes pacer Ravi Rampaul, and left-arm 'china-man' spinner, Dave Mohammed, could all but end Jamaica's hopes of making it to the semi-finals.

In the meantime, the same could also be said of Jamaica's bowlers, especially the pace bowlers, who against the Windwards conceded 65 runs in 15 overs, including 17 extras, without claiming a wicket. Should they fail to hit the right spots early, and the Bravos, Pollard, Barrath and Simmons get going, it could result in Jamaica preparing for an early exit.

"It will be an important match for both teams, and I expect the spectators to be behind Jamaica. But we will be aiming to play good consistent cricket and hopefully we will come out on top," said Trinidad captain, Ganga following their eight wicket win over the CCC in their opening game on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the group, the Windwards will seek to all but cement their spot in the semis when they face the Windwards at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.