Following their horrific 2-run defeat at the hands of Barbados, table leaders Guyana Jaguars will today look to rebound against their arch nemesis and hosts, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain in round four of the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional four-day tournament.
The two sides which have been locked in some of the most competitive matches in regional cricket history, will now aim to close off the final round and make up for their respective third round defeats before the tournament takes a brief pause ahead of the holidays to resume with the NAGICO Regional Super 50 leg in January, when they will then conclude the 4-day format.
Both sides have won 11 of their 51 matches played while 29 have resulted in draws. The Jaguars who lead the table with 39 points, opened their account with two straight wins at home when they trounced both Windward Islands Volcanoes and Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
The Red Force who lost their last match by 38 runs at the hands of Jamaica playing at the Queen’s Park Oval have 23 points and will now seek to utilize their home field advantage.
The home team will rely heavily on their batsmen Jason Mohammed, openers Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and Yannick Ottley; West Indies Under-19 wicket-keeper Nicholas Pooran, all-rounder Imran Khan, Steven Katwaroo all who have made starts but failed to carry on. With the majority of the players in the side being all-rounders, the skipper Rayad Emrit will be called upon to lead with his experience in both departments, while Khan, Mohammed, Akeal Hosein, Yannick Cariah and others will support with much efficiency in the bowling department.
In the other camp, Guyana will now need to shrug off the defeat which they themselves have to be blamed for after having scored 261, then dismissing the Bajans for 101 before enforcing the follow-on to which the Pride made 228 in their second innings and defended their 69 runs lead to much shock when they routed the dismal Jaguars for 66.
Guyana skipper Vishaul Singh said that the team was complacent in their approach and while they missed the trio of Leon Johnson, Assad Fudadin and Narsingh Deonarine who are representing the West Indies, he also acknowledged that the young batsmen needed to use the opportunity to put their hands up. Deonarine, who is the in-form batman despite his failure in the third round is the most experienced player and the best player of spin having played at the highest level and also having stints in Trinidad and Tobago. This makes him the big wicket for the home team.
Meanwhile Anthony Bramble, Shimron Hetmyer, Rajendra Chandrika, Singh himself who has yet to weigh in with a good score, will look to make amends today. The all-rounders Chris Barnwell and Raymon Reifer have not yet made good use of their previous innings, with both players having relatively normal outings with both bat and ball. The bowling department has so far proved its worth with the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Veerasammy Permaul who has 28 wickets and Devendra Bishoo who has 14 being forces to reckon with while pacer Ronsford Beaton (5 wickets) along with Barnwell, Reifer and Deonarine give more than useful support.
The last time these two teams met, the match was drawn and Bishoo rewrote history with his 15-wicket haul. Today’s encounter will play another integral part in the regional first-class history between these two sides. Other fourth round matches will see Windward Islands Volcanoes taking on Barbados Pride at the Arnos Vale cricket ground and the Jamaica Franchise playing the Leeward Islands Franchise at Sabina Park.
Guyana Jaguars squad: Vishaul Singh (Captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rajendra Chandrika, Shimron Hetmyer, Narsingh Deonarine (Vice Captain), Raymond Reifer, Anthony Bramble (wk), Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton, Keon Joseph, Trevon Griffith.
T&T Red Force squad: Rayad Emrit (Captain), Jason Mohammed (Vice-Capt.), Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Yannick Ottley, Nicholas Pooran, Imran Khan, Steven Katwaroo, Akeal Hosein, Marlon Richards, Daniel St. Clair, Jeremy Solozano, Yannick Cariah.
