ZONE A of the Red Stripe Bowl commences today in Jamaica with what is expected to be a lopsided affair at the Sir Frank Worrell Oval at the University of the West Indies Mona campus.

A potent Trinidad and Tobago team will take to the field against the Leeward XI which is reduced in strength due to the tradition-al Leeward Islands being split into two teams with Antigua taking part in Zone Bat home.

It will take nothing short of a major upset from StuartWilliams’ Leewards XI to deny the Daren Ganga-led Trinidadians a victory. Trinidad’s batting will rotate around world record-holder and West Indies captain Brian Lara. The masterful left-hander should do the bulk of the scoring once he gets going as it would be a tough task for the limited and inexperienced Leewards XI attack to contain a batsman of his superior quality.

Lara, a veteran of 96 Tests (8404 runs, 51.55 average) and 219 One Day Internationals (8233 runs, 43.10 average) is easily the most feared batsman in the zone and his wicket will be treated like long lost treasure by those who manage to capture it. In addition, the steady Ganga, the exciting Andy Jackson, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Aneil Kanhai who was a revelation for the West Indies B team in the Carib Beer Series earlier this year, are all capable of piling on runs for the Trinidadians. Stylish and compact opener Imran Jan will also be expected to contribute significantly with the bat.

Trinidad’s bowling will be spearheaded by the Test combination of fast bowler Merv Dillon and leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine with support from left-arm spinner Dave Mohamed and off-spinner Rodney Sookall. Theodore Modeste will be the likely man to share the new ball with Dillon in the absence of Ravi Rampaul who is with the Young West Indies team in Zone B. For Leewards to pull within sight of an upset their top batsman, the captain Williams, would need to come up with a commanding innings. It is not beyond his capabilities given that he was good enough to have played in 31 Test matches for the West Indies and 57 One-Day Internationals in addition to his being a usually dominant player at the regional level. The discipline-embattled Runako Morton who is making a comeback to regional cricket will be heavily depended upon by the Leewards to make their score competitive in addition to middle-order batsman Tonito Willet and positive opener Alex Adams along with rookie West Indies all rounder Omari Banks.

Banks, the lanky off-spinner who excited West Indies fans this year, in partnership with seam bowling all-rounder Carl Tuckett and a trio of young and untested spinners will do the work with the ball for the Leewards XI. Frank Munzac, Barsram Singh and Virgil Browne are the faces who will be on a keen mission to establish their names early. Chaka Hodge, another off-spinner, will also provide support in the bowling department. The fair-sized ground is located between two hills and as a result it is usually very humid. Combined with the scorching Jamaican temperature, it will be an even more challenging and uphill battle for the batsmen to play long innings and the fast bowlers to persevere in extended spells. The wicket is not expected to have overwhelming bounce but should have decent carry as most Jamaican wickets tend to have. Guyanese international umpire Eddie Nicholls will officiate alongside Dalton Holder.

LEEWARDS XI:Stuart Williams (Captain), Alex Adams, Carl Tuckett, Tonito Willett, Runako Morton, Frank Munzac, Virgil Browne, Steve Liburd, Elsroy Powell, Shane Jeffers, +Jason Williams, Barsram Singh, Chaka Hodge, Omari Banks. Ingleton Liburd (Manager) and Hayden Walsh (Coach)

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:Daren Ganga (captain), Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Andy Jackson, Imran Jan, Shazam Babwah, Aneil Kanhai, +Gibran Mohammed, Dave Mohammed, Mervyn Dillon, Reyad Emrit, Theodore Modeste, Dinanath Ramnarine, Rodney Sooklal. Omar Khan (Manager) and Anthony Gray (Coach).