A Leeward Islands Hurricanes side, minus the burly Rahkeem Cornwall seem less destructive despite their reputation of being a spoke in the five-time defending Professional Cricket League (PCL) champions, Guyana Jaguars’ wheel.
The Jaguars will want to pounce on the Leewards side, which has been their bogey in recent years, to set the tone for their 2020 season but can they?
The Jaguars are set to take on the hosts, Hurricanes in the opening round of the PCL in a day/night pink ball encounter from 14.00 hours today at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua. A win here could set the momentum for the season as they pursue a record-setting sixth consecutive title.
Chairman of the Guyana’s senior selection panel, Rayon Griffith, who is also in Antigua but as the Assistant Coach of the West Indies women’s team, said yesterday that he believes the Jaguars have what it takes to get a good start and bring the title home once again.
Griffith said the team boasts a lot of experienced players while also introducing players who have shown potential to play First-Class Cricket.
“We will go for the sixth title and we do have a good chance because most of the players have that experience playing over the years and we have some good young players representing Guyana this season,” Griffith said.
Last season, the Jaguars defeated the Hurricanes by nine wickets in Antigua but in Guyana, suffered a two-wicket loss which marked the third time the Hurricanes had beaten them, the most victories by any team in the past five years.
However, the Hurricanes look passive with the absence of several key players including Rahkeem Cornwall. The 26-year-old off-spinning all-rounder took 14 of his 54 scalps in the two matches last season against the Jaguars and he finished as the leading wicket-taker.
The Hurricanes will also be without the services of their second highest wicket-taker in pacer Alzarri Joseph due to West Indies duties. Together Cornwall and Joseph accounted for 51 percent of Hurricanes’ wickets taken last season.
In addition to the two talisman, Sheldon Cottrell, Terrence Warde and Jeremiah Louis are all absent for the opening round and with big shoes to fill Sheeno Berridge and Quinton Boatswain will have to step up.
Berridge enters the competition in top form after finishing the Super50 with the most wickets while Boatswain will want to cement his place as one of the premium fast bowlers in the side after picking up nine wickets in eight innings last season.
A rejuvenated Kieran Powell can also prove troubling for the Jaguars if he gets going with the bat and pushes for a spot back in maroon colours. He enters the PCL after scoring the most runs in the Super50 with an average of 58 compared to his First-Class average of 14 in the previous season.
The inclusion of Trinidadian 22-year-old top order batsman, Amir Jangoo should also help fill the void left by Cornwall in the batting department and help Hurricanes evolve from a tropical storm to a category five monster.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Jamar Hamilton is another player that will want to take the proverbial bull-by-the-horn and with the added responsibility of leading the side, he has his hands full. It will be interesting to see if he can thrive with the responsibility.
The Hurricanes can take satisfaction from the progress made by Montcin Hodge last season where he score two tons and four fifties to finish with the second highest run aggregate of 711. Like Hodge, Devon Thomas (685) and Kacey Carty (519) finished in the top 10 run getters of the season.
On the other hand, the solidarity of Jaguars’ top six see them being capable of producing hefty totals especially if openers, Chandrapaul Hemraj and Tagenarine Chanderpaul get off to a good start.
They will be followed by the experienced campaigners in skipper, Leon Johnson, Vishaul Singh and their leading run scorer of last season, Anthony Bramble.
Of interest also is whether the Jaguars will opt for Tevin Imlach in the playing XI as a second wicketkeeper/batsman.
Their lower order features fast-bowling all-rounders, Christopher Barnwell, Raymon Reifer while West Indies A seamer, Keon Joseph and newbie, Nial Smith, will lead the opening salvoes in the absence of Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd and Clinton Pestano.
The fast-bowlers have their work cut out for them since that was one factor that contributed to their success last season with 126 wickets, representing 25.2 points on the table. They won the championship by 20 points.
The spin department will see out-of-favour West Indies legspinner, Devendra Bishoo and left-arm orthodox, Veerasammy Permaul tasked with leading the unit. Together, the pair has 868 First-Class wickets to their name and provides one of the most impactful spin duo in the Caribbean. They will serve as good guidance for Sinclair and his off-spin which gives the defending champions a variety of bowling options.
Jaguars: Leon Johnson (captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Keon Joseph, Tevin Imlach, Nial Smith, Kevin Sinclair, Esaun Crandon (Head Coach), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Assistant Coach), Neil Barry jr. (Physiotherapist)
Hurricanes: Jamar Hamilton (captain), Kieran Powell, Montcin Hodge, Keact Carty, Devon Thomas, Jaison Peters, Jacque Taylor, Nino Henry, Damion Jacob, Quinton Boatswain, Sheeno Berridge, Amir Jangoo, Kezron Archibald, Stuart Williams (Head Coach), Wilden Cornwall (Manager), Hance Richards (Trainer)
