Haynes praises Scorpions’ resilience against plucky Pride

Head coach Robert Haynes hailed a “great team effort” after the Jamaica Scorpions pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind seven-wicket victory over the Barbados Pride at Chedwin Park on Wednesday, with young sensation Kirk McKenzie delivering a match-winning unbeaten century.

Chasing a tricky target after trailing by just six runs in the first innings, the Scorpions showed tremendous resolve to turn the tables on their perennial rivals.

McKenzie, the promising left-hander, anchored the chase with a composed, unbeaten century knock of 135, which showcased maturity beyond his years.

“Kirk McKenzie’s innings just now shows some maturity as well,” Haynes said after the match. “At times, he played some shots where we kind of panicked a bit, but we knew what he had because if you check the trial games that we played in over the last couple of months, a lot of runs were scored. Six hundred in one game, with three players getting centuries. So this is just a continuation.”

Captain John Campbell also played a starring role, following up a double hundred in a recent trial match with a timely century of 126 against the Pride. The skipper’s steady hand at the top of the order laid the foundation for McKenzie’s heroics.

Haynes revealed that the turnaround was orchestrated with careful planning. Having lost the first-innings advantage by the slimmest of margins, the dressing room refused to surrender.

“Overall, I think we stuck to the task. We lost the first innings by six runs, but we didn’t give up,” Haynes explained.

“We decided this morning (Wednesday) that we’re going to apply ourselves and see what stage we are at lunch, at tea, and then we’ll move from there. During that tea, we identified that we were scoring at three runs, four, four and a half runs an over, and we decided that we were going to have a go at it.”

With the victory secured and points in the bag, Haynes was quick to stress that complacency would not be tolerated as the team turns its attention to the next clash at Sabina Park on Sunday.

“What we need to do now is not to get complacent and just make sure that come Sunday, we start a new game. Although we have the points in the bag, we have to start a new game,” he said. “We train on Friday and probably Saturday and then get the game at Sabina Park on Sunday.”

Looking ahead to the second encounter, Haynes acknowledged that Barbados remain formidable opponents, especially with fresh players expected to be injected into their line-up. He also highlighted areas for improvement, particularly with the ball.

“Barbados have always been a very challenging team. They have some new players coming in for the game on Sunday, but what we have to do is try to improve this performance,” Haynes said. “We can’t afford to get complacent, so what we need to do is put this behind us. It’s a victory, it’s a great victory, but it’s a new game. So we have to start all over again.”

On the bowling front, Haynes called for greater precision.

“We need to still bowl a little bit straighter. Sabina Park is probably a different track because it has more grass. It’s a Test venue, and you might get more bounce,but we can’t afford to get complacent. That is what I would stress.”