All-rounder Chris Barnwell was yesterday appointed Captain of the Guyana Jaguars 14-man team ahead of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/NAGICO Regional Super50 tournament which bowls on January 15 in Trinidad & Tobago.
Barnwell will lead the local side which features a few familiar faces while left-arm off-spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who was recently named in the West Indies 30-man provisional squad for the 2015 World Cup was appointed Vice-Captain. Former national players Esaun Crandon and Rayon Griffith who continue to work relentlessly with the players were appointed Coach and Assistant Coach respectively.
The squad will also see the return of the pugnacious Jonathan Foo who last played for Guyana in 2011 while Royston Crandon who was not in the four-day squad makes a return to the limited overs set up. Both players have been in good form with the bat during the inter-county tournaments as well as the numerous practice matches played, having manage to score centuries in the process.
All-rounder Steven Jacobs who was not contracted by the local Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) franchise was preferred for the shorter format after not having played in the four-day competition. In terms of omission, there was no place for batsman Robin Bacchus who made his debut last season while the talented batsman Chandarpaul Hemraj and fast bowlers Raun Johnson and Keon Joseph were also some of the notable absentees.
The Jaguars will also miss the services of their big guns in Leon Johnson and Narsingh Deonarine who are currently with the West Indies senior team in South Africa and Assad Fudadin who was forced to pull out of the tour of South Africa due to a broken finger.
The fairly young but experienced batting department will be revolve around the talents of Trevon Griffith, Rajendra Chandrika, Foo, Royston Crandon, Jacobs, Barnwell, wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble, Raymon Reifer and Vishaul Singh.
Spin twins Permaul and Devendra Bishoo who are currently one and three on the leading wicket-takers list for the paused first leg of the WICB four-day tourney are expected to spearhead that department while seamer Paul Wintz makes a return to the Jaguars side after not playing four-day cricket last season.
Ronsford Beaton will be the other quick bowler for the locals.
The all-rounders featured in the side will be the skipper himself along with Reifer, Jacobs, Wintz who is handy with the bat along with Bishoo and Permaul who have shown their worth in the past while Foo and Crandon are more than useful part-time spinners.
With the side being named, the focus will now shift to the two upcoming practice matches which are scheduled for tomorrow and Thursday where the Jaguars will have two warm up 50-overs-a-side games between a Rest XI.
Guyana Jaguars squad: Christopher Barnwell (Captain), Rajendra Chandrika, Trevon Griffith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Veerasammy Permaul (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Royston Crandon and Jonathan Foo.
Caption: Chris Barnwell, Johnathan Foo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Steven Jacobs, Paul Wintz
