Guyana Jaguars will begin their hunt for a title in the Cricket West Indies, Colonial Medical Insurance Regional Super50 today from 13.30 hours against West Indies Emerging Players in a day and night encounter at the Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad and Tobago.
Jaguars finished second last season and both captain Leon Johnson and head coach, Esaun Crandon say that the team has been through ample preparation, mentioning the Cricket Guy Inc Franchise League as well as two warm-up matches which aided their white ball training.
Johnson had told this newspaper prior to the team’s departure that there is a need for the unit to perform consistently with the bat.
In the first of two official warm-up matches, Jaguars scored 280-4 in 45 overs with all-rounder, Raymon Reifer and Christopher Barnwell as well as newbie, Kemol Savory scoring half centuries while opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul fell one short of the landmark.
However, in the second match, the national side was stunned by the Rest XI – being bowled out for 190 in pursuit of 288. Barnwell again resisted with a brisk 41 while Ramaal Lewis looked comfortable in his 39-run cameo. Jaguars’ batting order looks imposing on paper especially with the inclusion of Guyana Amazon Warriors’ batting sensation, Chandrapaul Hemraj and the returning Jonathan Foo as well as Anthony Bramble and the captain himself.
However, despite a lot of big hitters in the side, last season only Hemraj had a strike rate of over 100 while Barnwell, Reifer, Hemraj and Chanderpaul all averaged over 45.
According to Johnson, the batting depth of the side stands out and the team will look to their all-round abilities to set them aside from the rest.
In the 14-man squad, the team possesses 11 bowling options, five seamers in the likes of newcomer, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Clinton Pestano, Reifer and Barnwell while the spin department is dominated by left-arm spinners, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie and Hemraj. Foo and Lewis are off-spinners and they are complemented by Johnson’s leg-break.
Permaul and Lewis were exceptional with the ball last season, taking 10 and 13 wickets respectively and supported their leading wicket taker, Pestano well. As a bowling unit, the team last year was very economical, going at 4.4 runs per over.
Crandon posited that the team has balance with both experienced campaigners – as nine players have returned from last season – and hungry newcomers despite the absence of Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd.
The captain and coach view it as a chance for the players in the side to make a mark of their own.
Jaguars will be wary of the up and coming stars of West Indies cricket especially with Guyanese, Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Sinclair in the mix.
Nedd, a left-arm spinner troubled the local boys throughout the domestic Franchise and even in the practice match with his return of 4-65 in the second contest.
Similar to Nedd, Sinclair has enjoyed a remarkable season in the local Franchise, returning 13 scalps with his off-spin and scoring 241 runs at an average of 60.
The unit will feature four West Indies under-19 players including their skipper, Kimani Melius who will serve as vice-captain while the team will be led by Yannic Cariah who, according to Chairman of the Men’s Senior Selection Panel, Roger Harper “is recommended as captain because his experience better positions him to lead and help guide this young team.”
Guyana Jaguars: Leon Johnson (Captain), Anthony Bramble, Kemol Savory, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Raymon Reifer, Christopher Barnwell, Jonathan Foo, Ramaal Lewis, Ronsford Beaton, Nial Smith, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Clinton Pestano, Esaun Crandon (Head Coach), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Assistant Coach), Neil Barry jr. (Physiotherapist)
West Indies Emerging Players: Yannic Cariah (Captain), Kimani Melius (Vice-Captain), Camarie Boyce, Roland Cato, Joshua Da Silva, Dominic Drakes, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Leonardo Julian, Jermaine Levy, Ashmead Nedd, Gidron Pope, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Floyd Reifer (Head Coach), Kenny Benjamin (Assistant Coach), Dr. Oba Gulston (Physiotherapist), Gregory Seale (Strength & Conditioning Coordinator), Dinesh Mahabir (Analyst)
