With the core of Guyana Jaguars Super50 team returning from last season, Christopher Barnwell, Gudakesh Motie and Trevon Griffith were named in the side released yesterday by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to represent the nation in the 10-team Cricket West Indies Regional Super50.
Barnwell, who was not originally named in the 14-man squad but was called up as a replacement player has been tremendous in the recently concluded GCB 50-overs Franchise League.
He has scored the second most runs for his franchise, Georgetown, only behind Leon Johnson who will captain the Jaguars once again and finished last season of the Super50 as Guyana’s second leading run getter averaging 48 with 240 runs from six games.
Johnson, who stroked three half centuries and a century in five innings during the Franchise League, will have the services of West Indies B team captain, Anthony Bramble, as his deputy.
West Indies A team bowling all-rounder, Romario Shepherd has grown leaps and bounds and finds his way back into the side while like Barnwell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul is also included in the side that features Trevon Griffith who played for Jamaica Scorpions last season and has scored the most runs for East Bank in the local Franchise League including a century.
This season, Guyana will be hard pressed with their leading bowler and batsman last season Devindra Bishoo and Shimron Hetmyer respectively along with the talented all rounder Keemo Paul on West Indies duty.
Two other players in Chandrapaul Hemraj and Sherfane Rutherford are also expected to leave the Jaguars side for International duty in the side that has no Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Gudakesh Motie has been included after missing last season and has improved his game with the bat, stroking two half centuries in the recent local Franchise League while overseas players, Raymon Reifer and Ramaal Lewis are also in the side. With Hemraj and Rutherford expected to depart for India, Kemol Savory, who has been remarkable with the gloves behind the stumps and belligerent with the bat, as well as former under-19 captain, Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed, have been named as stand by players. Ali-Mohammed was the only player to score two centuries in the Franchise League.
Speaking on the unavailability of some of the key players, GCB Honarary Secretary, Anand Sanasie, speaking exclusively with Stabroek Sports said “That’s the cost of doing well regionally and our objective is to get our players to West Indies but we have a strong reserve in our academy and so on and that has been proven in the Regional four-day cricket and I think the younger players coming through all the time that shouldn’t be a bother.”
Speaking on the chances of Guyana winning the title for the first time since 2005, Sanasie said:“Well we all know this one seems to be elusive to us but this year I can tell you from what I have learnt is that Trinidad will have all of their top players and we have always been the underdogs coming in but like everything else we have a young group of players coming through and I think we have a very good chance of winning because everyone can contribute in some way or another I think this year we should pull it off.”
The team is expected to depart tomorrow at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport for Trinidad and Tobago where the competition will be hosted throughout October with Canada, West Indies B team, USA and Combined Colleges and Campuses reportedly in the tournament.
The squad reads: Leon Johnson- Captain, Anthony Bramble-Vice Captain, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Christopher Barnwell, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Ramaal Lewis, Antony Adams, Trevon Griffith and Clinton Pestano.
The team is led by Coach, Esuan Crandon and Manager/Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith. They will also be accompanied by Physiotherapist, Neil Barry.
