WICB First-Class Franchise Cricket…Jaguars aim to extend unbeaten streak, face Red Force at Providence today

Mar 13, 2015 Sports

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By Sean Devers
Today at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, the Guyana Jaguars and

Trinidad & Tobago’s Red Force will lock horns in the penultimate round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) First-Class Franchise Cricket clash after contrasting results in the last round.
In a game which could be affected by rain, leaders Guyana Jaguars, with 123 points, have a full strength side which includes six Test players, the Red Force with only 51 points, are only ahead of stragglers Leeward Islands on the points table.
This season the Jaguars have displayed solid ‘team cricket’ and only lost one of their eight matches; winning five on the trot including an unprecedented four consecutive wins on ‘the road’ including a rare victory in Jamaica to put them 23 points clear of second placed Barbados.
Skipper Leon Johnson, Assad Fudadin, Narsingh Deonarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo have all played Test cricket while Chris Barnwell has T20 West Indies team experience and have the strongest team in the tournament.
The Red Force, already without former West Indies Captain Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan who withdrew from the entire tournament due to personal reasons, are also without West Indies players Denish Ramdin, Lindl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Ravi Rampaul, the Bravo brothers,

Kieron Pollard, who played in the last game but has requested an indefinite break from national duty.
T&T was once the most united team in West Indies cricket but now the team seems to be in tatters and the only player with Test experience in the visitors’ line-up is returning fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who is unlikely to get any help from an expected low and sluggish Providence track on which Permaul and Bishoo should again enjoy their work.
Although cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty, the Jaguars will start as firm favorites to extend their lead today and a win here (with full bonus points) assures them of their sixth First-Class title and first since they shared it with the Leewards in 1998, even though they still have a final game to play in Dominica. They have played T&T 55 times have won 13, lost 12 while 29 of those games have been drawn.
But while the team has improved tremendously this season the decline of the other teams and spin friendly pitches at Providence have worked in the Jaguars’ favour. A fair criticism of the Guyana batsmen is their inability to convert solid starts into three-figure scores.
No batsman has managed a century for the year, including Guyana’s run machine Shiv Chanderpaul,  who has not managed a century since September last year when he made his 30th Test ton against Bangladesh.
Deonarine (2) and Vishaul Singh (1) are the only Guyanese with hundreds in the competition but they

both got their centuries last year. Deonarine has 458 runs and an Average of 50.88 but no other batsman has managed a 50-plus average for Guyana although everyone has stepped up when the team needed them to produce to give the Jaguars the most totals over 250 (six times) including the highest of tournament when they made 498-8 declared against the Red Force in Trinidad with Singh scoring a magnificent 141.
The jaguars also have the second highest successful run chase when they made 335-6 against Barbados in Barbados. However, Rajendra Chandrika has scored four half-centuries in his 408 runs and has looked accomplished each time he batted but if he wants to partner Kraigg Braithwaite at the top of the order for the West Indies in Tests he needs to score his maiden ton quickly.
Johnson got back-to-back fifties in the last game but will know that the selectors remember centuries despite how attractive the half century was. Chanderpaul, who has three fifties but averages 34.95, needs to silence those who say he is getting old and can’t make big scores anymore.
Barnwell has two fifties and so has Permaul, who is enjoying a wonderful season with both bat and ball while Anthony Bramble has the most dismissals (38) in the tournament in addition to scoring 73 in the only game the Jaguars lost.  Raymond Reifer also has a half-century and could replace Ronsford Beaton, who looks ineffective on the Providence pitch.
Permaul, the leading wicket-taker (58) and Bishoo (44) should again be among the wickets especially since the last time these two teams met here last year, Bishoo got a Guyana record 9-78 and match-figures of 15-149 which is only bettered by Trinidadian leg-spinner Rajendra Dhanraj’s 16-167.
The Red Force have lost five of their eight matches and only Jason Mohamed (389 runs) has scored a ton while 19-year-old Jeremy Solozano is a real talent but has never made runs in Guyana. Yannick Ottley, Kjorn Ottley, Bryan Charles, Keeper Steven Katwaroo, Imran Khan and Skipper Rayed Emrit will all need to contribute with the bat if this depleted T&T unit intends to challenge the Jaguars, who are confident and on a roll.
Leg-spinner Khan has 46 wickets (2nd highest) and along with left-arm spinner Derone Davis and Cariah should do the bulk of the bowling for the visitors. Guyanese born pacer Marlon Richards and Gabriel could find fast bowing hard work at Providence. The match is scheduled to start at 10:00hrs today.
Red Force: Rayad Emrit (Captain), Jeremy Solozano, Imran Khan, Kjorn Ottley, Jason Mohammed, Yannic Cariah, Yannick Ottley, Steven Katwaroo, Marlon Richards, Shannon Gabriel, Bryan Charles, Derone Davis, Mark Deyal.
Jaguars: Leon Johnson (Capt), Rajendra Chandrika, Assad Fudadin, Narsingh Deonarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer, Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Keon Joseph, Ronsford Beaton.

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