– fourth round begins today
Essequibo heads into the fourth round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Jaguars Three-Day Franchise League as leaders of the points table and are focused on remaining at the top, according to their assistant coach Ryan Hercules.
The men from the Cinderella County are sitting on 40.8 points, after notching up two wins and a draw. They will do battle against current fourth placeholders, Georgetown at the Tuschen Sports Club ground from today.
Hercules in an invited comment from Stabroek Sports pointed out that his guys are up for the fight and are quite relaxed at the moment.
“The mood in the camp is very high and everyone is high spirits and we are looking forward to tomorrow’s [today’s] game,” the former National fast bowler said.
“We have been doing well so far, both on and off the field, and we are trying to keep that [winning] momentum going. We know tomorrow [today] is a very big game and a very important one for us as well because we are not so far apart from the second team,” Hercules pointed out.
The task, however, will present a few challenges since they will be coming up against an experienced Georgetown side who will be strengthened with the inclusion of Skipper Leon Johnson.
Hercules, nevertheless believes that his combinations are ideal heading into the much-anticipated encounter, noting the contributions of Skipper Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams and Kemol Savory who have all proven they’re worth in the league thus far.
The relatively small Tuschen ground has been a haven for exciting cricket, with both the batsmen and bowlers enjoying its pitch. West Indies Under – 19 duo, Tevin Imlach and Tagenarine Chanderpaul have both struck centuries at the venue, with Chanderpaul’s 176, the highest individual score of the 2017 edition of the league to date, while spinner Gudakesh Motie grabbed 11 – 42 during the last round.
The encounter should see Essequibo’s in form players Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams and Kemol Savory being called upon to maintain their side’s hold on the top of the points table, with Keemo Paul also likely to contribute in a major way with both bat and ball.
However, the Georgetown players who have been steadily finding their feet will be riding on Christopher Barnwell’s form with the bat, while spinners Gajanan Suknanan and Steven Sankar are expected to deliver for the Capital city’s team.
The other fourth-round matches will see Upper Corentyne coming up against second-place West Demerara at Port Mourant, Lower Corentyne will do battle with East Bank at Young Warriors and West Berbice face the East Coast Demerara side at Bush Lot.
The points standings after three rounds: Essequibo 40.8, West Demerara 38.4, Upper Corentyne 26, Georgetown 25.3, East Bank Demerara 24.3, Lower Corentyne 22.6, East Coast Demerara 18, and West Berbice 9.9.
