By Royston Alkins
Guyana Jaguars got their title hunt on the way by registering their first win of the 2017 Regional Super50 tournament Saturday when they schooled the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners by eight wickets.
The team will have a golden opportunity to register another win when they come up against a depleted ICC Americas team today at the Windward Cricket Club ground.
The match, which begins at 9am, will give the Jaguars the opening to gain some impetus for their remaining four games against the same opponents they played in Group B.
The men from South America completed a timely and tidy team performance against the Marooners which should have healed some of the Jaguar’s wounds from the two previous loses.
Jaguars, today, have the break to come up against an out of sorts ICC Americas side which has so far lost all of their games and things do not seem to be turning around anytime soon for them. In that regard, the Guyanese should look to capitalize and put up a strong team performance that can ensure the acquisition of a few bonus points along the way.
Skipper Leon Johnson should take heart that his team is finally coming into its own with strong performances in the last round, inspiring confidence which indicated that the team has not shown any sign of giving up just yet.
A number of players showed encouraging strides during the eight-wicket win against the Marooners. They were led by contrasting knocks from Rajindra Chandrika who opened the batting and Raymon Reifer who batted at first drop.
The 27-year-old Chandrika, who has played five test matches for the West Indies, was gritty and solid in defence as if to say he needs another opportunity at the highest level. His unbeaten knock of 43 lasted 76 deliveries.
Reifer, on the other hand, took charge of the Jaguars batting effort and dominated the 117-run partnership with Chandrika by hitting a run-a-ball 67 with (9x4s, 1×6).
Jaguars bowling effort was led by the experienced duo of left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who took 3-19 off 10 overs and Test leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who grabbed 2-28 off 7.5 overs.
Fast bowler Ronsford Beaton chipped in with 2-23 off his eight overs which would have done his confidence some good after two average performances in the first two games while Steven Jacobs was once again economical, going under the three-run-per over mark after capturing 2-28 from his 10 overs.
The Guyanese should use today’s match to build on what was achieved on Saturday. The batters in particular, who have not inspired much singing and dancing in the early stage of the tournament, should use the opportunity to spend some time in the middle to gain much needed self-assurance for the remaining matches against the Barbados Pride and Jamaican Scorpions.
Completing victories against those two along with other favourable outcomes in the remaining matches should see the Jaguars qualifying for the semis. Today’s encounter will be the first time the Jaguars will face off against the ICC Americas.
Apart from that bit of history being made, the match will have added meaning with Alex Amsterdam, who represented Guyana at the Under 19 level, suiting up for the ICC 11 and he will no doubt be looking to do well.
