Jermaine Lannaman, STAR Writer

A cadre of West Indies representatives will today assemble on the grounds of Chedwin Park for the feature game of the opening round of the new-look Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Limited Overs Championship, between beaten Senior Cup finalists St Elizabeth and former champions St Catherine.

The showdown, which is slated to get underway at 9 a.m., will see St Elizabeth parading Jerome Taylor, Shawn Findlay and captain Darren Powell, while St Catherine, to be led by Tamar Lambert, will showcase Andre Russell, Odean Brown and Danza Hyatt.

"It should be an entertaining day of cricket, as we will be having Russell and Hyatt only for this game before they go off to represent the Wet Indies in England. And with St Elizabeth being the other top team in the zone, we will be going all out for the victory," said Lambert of the Zone D 50-over fixture.

"It's been a while that we have not won this limited overs tournament and the feeling and vibe in the camp is that now is the time and we plan to work hard for that to happen," he added.

The match, one of seven scheduled for today, will also see the clubs showcasing a number of former and current national Under-19 players.

They include batsmen Shacoya Thomas, Junior Stewart and Oraine Williams of St Catherine, and West Indies Under-19 leg-spinner Donovan Nelson, batsman Brian Gayle and fast bowler Markino Minley of St Elizabeth.

"Having reached the final of the Senior Cup earlier this year we are now on a high and the hope is that we will be able to carry over this form into the limited overs championship," said Powell.

"We have been training hard and the guys are upbeat, so it is just for us to take this attitude into the match and come out on top."

In other matches the Xavier Marshall-led St Ann, the defending champions, will take on Trelawny at Noranda Bauxite, formerly Kaiser Bauxite, and Hanover will host Westmoreland at Elgin Town in Zone A.

Kensington will host Boys' Town at Kensington and Kingston will play away to Police at Elletson Road in Zone D. The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) will entertain St Mary at Up Park Camp and Clarendon will travel to Spanish Town to face G.C. Foster in Zone C.

Last season's beaten finalists, Melbourne, St Thomas, St Catherine CA and St James, have all drawn a bye for the round, while Senior Cup champions Manchester, Portland and Lucas have withdrawn due to a lack of money.

The JCA, who could not secure a sponsor for the championship and has been struggling to find funds, had asked clubs wishing to participate to foot the bills associated with team travel and venue-related costs, which was normally borne by the association.

However, Manchester, Portland and Lucas said that they could not afford the expenditures.

The championship will be played over three rounds, with the winners and runners-up of the four preliminary round zones scheduled to advance to the quarter-final.

The quarter-finals winners will then advance to the semi-finals, with the final set for October 29 at a venue to be decided.