Guyana Jaguars are arguably the best prepared team

Oct 24, 2015 Sports

As they aim to defend PCL four-day title

By Sean Devers
With under two weeks to go before defending Champions Guyana Jaguars plays their opening game in the 2015/2016 WICB Professional Cricket league (PCL) four-day first-class cricket franchise on November 6 against the Windward Volcanoes at Providence, the South American based unit is arguably the best prepared of the six Franchises.

Leon Johnson, Taignarine Chanderpaul & Kemo Paul did well in the Yo-Yo test at the ‘Sports Hall’.

After coming together in Georgetown in August, the entire squad which includes their Bajan overseas ‘picks’ Raymon Reifer and Jevon Searles in addition to the 12 players with Academy contracts, have been involved in daily training and practice sessions with the weekends reserved for club cricket in Demerara and Berbice.
Reifer has been plying his trade for the famous GCC, while three Three-Day Simulation games and a Four-Day practice game were held at Bourda.
The Providence Stadium, where the last four-day practice game will be held from Monday and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall have been used for intense morning physical training sessions conducted by Guyana’s leading fitness trainer Kezqweyah Yisrael.
On Mondays the players attend assessment meetings at which the four Coaches employed by Cricket Guyana Inc, assess the progress of the players. The players are also involved in motivational sessions before going to the Aquatic Centre on the East Cost of Demerara for ‘pool sessions’.
The Government, through the NSC and its hard working Director of Sport Christopher Jones, made the ‘Sports Hall’ and the Pool available to the GCB for the preparation of the Jaguars. Unlike previous years, the adverse Weather had not been a problem.
Players like the experienced Shiv Chanderpaul, Assad Fudadin and Vishaul Singh, who scored 141 on his Captaincy debut against the T&T Red Steels in Trinidad, have showed good temperament at Regional and in Chanderpaul’s case, international levels.
But what impressed many who watched the simulation games was the fact that the usually pugnacious batsmen like West Indies U-19 opener Shemron Hetymer, Chris Barnwell and 22-year-old Kevin Boodie batted for lengthy periods with refreshing maturity.
Boodie’s expertly crafted 131 in the practice game was a joy to watch as his innings ebbed and flowed as the situation of the match dictated. The young Essequibian is also a more than useful Keeper.
Head Coach Eusan Crandon and his Assistant Rayon Griffith both say this was one of the fittest Guyana teams ever assembled, while Test player Fudadin feels that no one in the training squad could lament that ‘lack of preparation’ is an excuse if they don’t perform well.
The coaches could be accused of being ‘politically correct’ but this writer attended 95% of the team’s preparatory sessions and could attest to the fact Coaches are ‘bang on target’ about the fitness levels of the players.
Leon Johnson, Devendra Bishoo and Fudadin are usually among the fittest players, but this year, while they have also improved the teenage trio of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kemo Paul and Hetymer proved to be the fittest of the lot.
Even Yisrael noted that the players were far fitter than they were for the last tournament. “I think the players, especially the young ones, are more committed to their improvement as cricketers because they can now focus on cricket knowing they will get a salary every month to play cricket. This takes away a lot of the stress of having to make a decision on getting a normal job or playing cricket as a career. They are getting paid so they could eat better and even pay players from their clubs for extra practice,” the fitness instructor said.
Another impressive story from the practice matches was the bowling of the pacers on generally flat tracks. They bowled with pace and control, with Berbician Raun Johnson looking the best of the lot. Ronsford Beaton showed he is still the quickest in Guyana with Keon Joseph not far behind in pace and hostility.
Reifer seems to have fully settled into life in Guyana and his left-handedness and the variety that comes with his ability to produce lateral movement through the air and off the seam. He is equipped with a good ‘slower’ ball and, on pitches which have gotten lower and slower throughout the Caribbean, should be an asset in the Jaguars’ bowling armory.
The one disappointing aspect is that without Devendra Bishoo, who should miss at least the first game, the spinners are bowling too flat and fast and many times lack that teasing flight that draws batsmen out of their crease.
There is an acute shortage of quality off-spinners in Guyana and Steven Jacobs, who moved from being a batting all-rounder to a bowler who bats well, is the best of the off-spinners but he, like Veerasammy Permaul, are bowling too flat and will struggle to dismiss top batsmen on quality pitches.
The squad had a ‘day of bounding’ on Wednesday at Bourda and took time off from their hard work to share food and drinks (no alcohol).They participated in races and novelty events like ‘food eating contest’ and other such fun activities
The final squad should be announced during the course of this week’s final practice game. So what will the selectors come up with?
The batsmen have basically picked themselves (unless someone gets a big ton in the final practice match). Hetymer is the perfect foil for Fudadin at the top of the order, with Rajendra Chandrika (who is being wasted in Sri Lanka, unavailable).
Skipper Leon Johnson (who should have been in Sri Lanka) should bat at three, with Singh at four and Shiv Chanderpaul at five. Reifer, Barnwell and Anthony Bramble should bat in the order while Permaul, Beaton and Raun Johnson could complete the line-up.
In the ‘old days’ quality off-spinners would ‘line up’ to bowl to a team in which the first six in the order are all left-handers. If the right-handed Boodie gets another big score in the practice match he could force his way into the squad during the course of the 10 matches and should play in next year’s NAGICO Super50.
Last season the Jaguars made consistent big scores (apart from 67 all out needing 69 to beat Barbados at Providence) and Narsingh Deonarine (now playing for Red Steel) scored two centuries in the first two rounds, while Singh got a hundred in T&T and Chanderpaul and Barnwell both registered tons in the last round when they shared in a century partnership against the Windwards. Both Bishoo and Permaul got over 60 wickets.
Guyana Jaguars (probable 13) A. Fudadin, S. Hetymer, L. Johnson (Captain), V. Singh (V/Capt), S Chanderpaul, R. Reifer, C. Barnwell, A. Bramble, V. Permaul, R. Beaton, R. Johnson, Jevon Searles, S. Jacobs, E. Crandon (Head Coach), R. Griffith (Manager/Asst Coach)