Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

Jermaine Lawson - File

Disappointed at his exclusion from the present West Indies squad, Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson has vowed not to rest until he works his way back into the regional team.

Lawson, who had only a single wicket in the first two Carib Beer Series matches against Leeward Islands and Combined Campuses and Colleges, returned this past week to have impressive match figures of eight for 103 against Guyana.

"The main thing is to keep getting wickets, maintain my fitness and hopefully I can get selected," he said while eyeing the 2008 home series against Sri Lanka in March/April and Australia from May to July.

Lawson, the top wicket taker in the Carib Beer Series last year with 29 victims, said he is disappointed that his performances were not good enough to win him a place in several training squads.

"I think I did pretty okay in the whole tournament and I was not selected in the camp nor anything. Yes, I was a bit disappointed," he said while making it clear he will continue to work towards his goal. "There is a lot of work to be done, and I just want to continue to train hard and hopefully one day I can reap the benefit."

Eyeing more wickets

The cricketer, who has taken 51 wickets in 13 Tests for the West Indies, has his sights on 30 or more wickets in the 2008 regional cricket series.

"Before the start of the competition, I had set myself a target of over 30 wickets. So far, I have only gone nine, but I have another three or four games to go, so it's not too late," he said while noting that last year's tally came from five games.

He is also trying to remain consistent.

"One of my main goals is to try and be more consistent, bowl less bad balls and let the batsmen work harder for their runs, also to improve on my pace and my overall cricket," he concluded.

anthony.foster@gleanerjm.com