The NAGICO Super50 bowls off as Jamaica opposes defending champions, Windward Islands, with the tournament, franchised to Trinidad and Tobago for the next three years, being brought to the Caribbean audience, live and exclusively by ESPN Caribbean. Here's a link: ESPN Schedule
ESPN Caribbean takes a look at the squads and analyzes the teams in a battle for ODI supremacy in the region. With Ireland and England looming as warm-ups prior to March's ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, this tournament will be keenly contested as the Windies aim to defend their crown. The 2015 ICC ODI World Cup beckons in Australia and New Zealand also so there's a bigger prize at stake and much glory to grasp.
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Prediction: Winners
Squad: Dwayne Bravo (c), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Kevon Cooper, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Yannick Ottley, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons.
Assessment: This team boasts a wealth of West Indian experience and a very robust crop of players capable of excelling in the limited overs format of the game. With the captaincy switched from Denesh Ramdin to Dwayne Bravo, the latter has a lot to prove given that his tenure as West Indies ODI skipper thus far has been stained with disappointing results in India and New Zealand. Bravo and his younger brother, Darren, have however found their individual form much more improved as 2013 closed and despite the absence of the injured Kieron Pollard, the experience, as well as cavalier promise in the form of Evin Lewis and a stifling Sunil Narine, augurs well for a deeply talented team.
Country: Guyana
Prediction: Runner-up
Squad: Christopher Barnwell (c), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (vc), Robin Bacchus, Ronsford Beaton, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble (wk), Royston Crandon, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Trevon Griffith, Leon Johnson, Veerasammy Permaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Paul Wintz.
Assessment: Guyana also boasts a plethora of experience as well as depth. With the vibrant firestarter in Christopher Barnwell helming leadership duties, the stalwart and timeless Shivnarine Chanderpaul is assisting as his deputy. With such a reliable mentor, players such as Trevon Griffith and Ronsford Beaton, are expected to live up to long-touted promise amid the tried, tested and struggling Veerasammy Permaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and a few others who failed to live up to expectations with the Windies in recent years. These players know their names are on the chopping blocks and this could be one of the last chances they get to etch their names into the selectors' minds. This team is hungry.
Country: Jamaica
Prediction: Semi-finals
Squad: David Bernard (c), Nikita Miller (vc), Carlton Baugh (wk), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Jon-Ross Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Tamar Lambert, Kennar Lewis, Andre McCarthy, Horace Miller, Andrew Richardson, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor.
Assessment: Losing the talismanic Chris Gayle as captain through injury is indeed a hard pill to swallow. The added pressure on Nikita Miller, Sheldon Cottrell and Andre Russell to garner whatever little Windies experience they have and bring it to the fore is indeed high. One mistake could well be omitting the swashbuckling big-hitter, Danza Hyatt, but Jamaica has proven to be the most consistent and formidable ODI team in the past five years, so they can't be discounted. They have enough depth to make this work and a wildcard in pacer, Jerome Taylor.
Country: Barbados
Prediction: Semi-finals
Squad: Kevin Stoute (c), Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Rashidi Boucher, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Dwayne Smith, Kenroy Williams
Assessment: With a surprising move in naming Kevin Stoute as skipper, this team is consistently blessed with players who never transcended fully to realizing international potential. The majority of this team was once touted as 'the next big thing' but quickly petered out.
However, the emergence of Jason Holder in 2013 has reinvigorated a squad whose main weapon could be a rabid Dwayne Smith, starving to make his way back to the big stage. However, while the multiple-day format does favor this unit, there's something about their big-name bowling recently that leaves too much to be desired. Still, they do have a deep team that can make inroads when least expected. Kemar Roach will be missed.
Country: Windward Islands
Squad: Liam Sebastien (c), Andre Fletcher (vc), Alston Bobb, Johnson Charles (wk), Romel Currency, Craig Emmanuel, Delorn Johnson, Keddy Lesporis, Mervin Mathew, Garey Mathurin, Kenroy Peters, Dalton Polius, Devon Smith, Tyrone Theophile.
Assessment: Can the diminutive players like Keddy Lesporis and Garey Mathurin live up to the promise they show year in, year out but never deliver on? This will be an intense test for a team who will be missing their talisman in Darren Sammy. But with Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher present, explosive batting will surely be on display. How poignant remains to be seen. Their depth is diminished and they could well see their title relinquished unless someone steps up to replace Sammy.
Country: Leeward Islands
Squad: Kieran Powell (c), Justin Athanaze, Lionel Baker, Quinton Boatswain, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Montcin Hodge, Sylvester Joseph, Anthony Martin, Mali Richards, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Hayden Walsh.
Assessment: Kieran Powell will have to channel all of his international experience into this team which is one of the weakest in recent history. Some names have been around a while but with a lacking chemistry, this will prove to be a tall order for a team that suffers from a lack of depth terribly. There's a disjointed feel with Leeward Islands that leaves a big burden on Powell's shoulders.
Country: Combined Campuses and Colleges
Squad: Steven Jacobs (c), Anthony Alleyne, Ryan Austin, Kyle Corbin (wk), Akeem Dewar, Kavem Hodge, Kyle Mayers, Wayne Morgan, Kristopher Ramsaran, Floyd Reifer, Raymon Reifer, Shacaya Thomas, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams.
Assessment: Chadwick Walton has left many fans pondering his international call-ups and he's faced with a herculean task here.
Steven Jacobs leads with leave taken from Guyana and with his team expected to be one of the minnows in the tournament, it will be fun anticipating which big scalp they shockingly claim, as is the custom every year.
However, they aren't expected to go the distance.
Country: Ireland
Squad: William Porterfield (c), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andy McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wk), Andrew Poynter (wk), Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson (wk), Craig Young.
Assessment: The Trinidad and Tobago pitches will trouble them. Plain and simple. Ex-Windies legend, Phil Simmons, has probably educated his charges long and hard on his old stomping grounds and with Kevin O'Brien playing for Trinidad in the CPL last year, insight will be shared but Ireland, as guests, is expected to be the team that will struggle most. Again, not for a lack of talent, but because these Caribbean conditions can be quite arduous.