Guyana Jaguars Assistant Coach Rayon Griffith said the three-day practice match which bowls off today at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) Ground Bourda, will help get the cricketers backinto four-day mode following the staging of the regional one day competition.
“The 50 over competition is done so we’re trying to get out of the 50 over mood and get them into longer format so we will be using this match to put them in that zone,” Griffith told Stabroek Sport yesterday.
The only practice match which commences at 9:30hrs, will be used to kick start preparation for the final half of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional 4-day tournament which resumes February 12 with the Jaguars playing the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at Providence.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Chairman of National Selectors also added that apart from the notable contracted Guyana Jaguars players such as skipper Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika, Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton, Chris Barnwell and others, the Cricket Guyana Inc., (CGI) academy players like Robin Bacchus, Romario Shepherd, Kevon Boodie and others will also have an opportunity to stake a claim for possible selection in the 4-day side.
“It’s a practice game and everyone will be trying to get into the Team,” Griffith declared as he also confirmed that the leading run-scorer in last December’s CGI Local Franchise League (LFL) 50 over tournament, former National T20 batsman Johnathan Foo will be a part of the match along with
Gajanand Singh, the former Guyana and West Indies Under-19 batsman who recently made a comeback on the cricket scene and seems to be trying to resurrect his career.
Upon the conclusion of the practice match which ends on Thursday, the former Guyana fast-bowler explained that the team will use the remaining
eight days prior to the match against Trinidad to continue their training with net sessions and their routine fitness exams.
The defending champs currently sit on 85 points form their first five matches which they won and will square off against the Red Force who beat them in last month’s Nagico Super 50 semi-finals, before heading on the road to play Barbados, Leewards and Windwards before playing their final match of the season at Providence against Jamaica.
