ICBL EMPIRE
Position last year: Second
Home ground: Bank Hall
Captain: Jamal Smith
Coach: Sherlon Greaves
Manager: Chesterfield Walcott
In: None confirmed
Out: None
Unavailable at start of season: Ryan Hinds (playing in Dubai), Alcindo Holder (playing in Trinidad), Jomel Warrican (playing in England); Kevin Stoute, Roston Chase, Javon Searles (the trio will be on duty with the Barbados team)
OVERVIEW: Empire face a familiar problem at the start of the season – missing key players for a variety of reasons.
It is one of the factors why the traditional powerhouses have not won the top division since 2004. They usually have some catching up to do and this might be a similar situation because of the unavailability of six regulars at the beginning of the competition.
With the cream of the middle – Ryan Hinds, Kevin Stoute, Roston Chase and Alcindo Holder – unavailable, a lot of responsibility will fall on captain Jamal Smith, his predecessor Jason Haynes and veteran Shawn Graham.
Those on Barbados duties will be back for the second match and it should make a big difference.
Empire were a distant second last season, finishing 47 points behind four-time champions UWI, but to their credit, they were the only team to match the winners and seemed on course to beat them before bad light ended the match.
Empire’s bowling hasn’t had an impressive look to it on paper in recent seasons but they should still be among the teams battling for second place.
EXPECTATIONS:
Sherlon Greaves (coach): “We usually hold our own. At the beginning of last season, we were without quite a few players but we still held our own. I don’t see anything different this season.
“Our Intermediate team reached the semi-finals last year, so we have quite a few youngsters from there we can call on.
“If we’re playing in the competition, we have to try to challenge UWI. Last year, we were probably the only team to give them a serious challenge. We’re looking to do a little bit better this season.”
PREDICTION: Between third and fifth. In a competition with only nine matches, they cannot afford to get off to a slow start.
