Bermuda’s Kamau Leverock may be asked to open the batting for the ICC Americas team in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional Super50 Tournament in Barbados after United States all-rounder Steven Taylor opted to play for Jamaica Scorpions instead.

Taylor, born in Florida of Jamaica parents, has been named in Jamaica’s 14-man squad for the tournament which began yesterday with two matches. According to the ESPNCricinfo.com, Taylor has been spending his off-seasons in Jamaica the last two years in a bid to improve his chances of selection.

The 23-year-old, who is contracted to Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, was named as vice-captain of the ICC Americas squad last month. However, he could see a lot of game time for a Jamaica team who are missing Chris Gayle (injured) and Marlon Samuels, who has reportedly accepted an invitation to play for the Leeward Islands Hurricane in Zone A matches in Antigua. Taylor, though, did not play in their shock defeat by the Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners in the tournament’s opening game yesterday.

The departure of Taylor is the second from the Americas team after Bermuda’s Delray Rawlins declined the invitation in order to represent the England Under-19s in India this month. Leverock will be Bermuda’s only representative in the Americas team and his impressive 137 off 111 balls against Jersey in the Division Four Tournament in Los Angeles in November as an opener makes him a candidate to open the batting in Taylor’s absence.

Canada’s Srimantha Wijeyratne, who was the leading scorer for ICC Americas last year at the WICB Super 50, is expected to fill one opening spot while the other may be contested between Leverock and the US’s Fahad Babar. Babar has been playing first-class cricket during the winter with Kalutara Physical Culture Club in Sri Lanka.

The Americas team, made up of players from the US, Canada and Bermuda, will play their first match tomorrow against the CCC Maroons, who beat Jamaica by 75 runs yesterday.

Nitish Kumar, the Canada captain and St Lucia Zouks all-rounder, has been named to lead the 15-man ICC Americas squad for the tournament, which runs until February 18. Kumar is one of eight holdovers from the ICC Americas squad who went winless in their debut appearance at the Super50 in Trinidad & Tobago last January.

Potential showdowns between Taylor and several of his US team-mates loom on February 1 and February 11, when Jamaica are scheduled to play Americas. Also in Zone B with the Americas are Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars and Jamaica Scorpions.