Antigua Independence T20 Cricket...Guyana face Jamaica in match two on Oct. 7

Antigua Independence T20 Cricket…Guyana face Jamaica in match two on Oct. 7

Oct 02, 2017 Sports

Johnson feels more T20 cricket needed locally

Leon Johnson (flickr.com)

By Sean Devers
The second annual Antigua & Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) Independence T20 tri-Nation series is scheduled to run from October 6-14 and involves host County Antigua, Guyana and Jamaica.
The Guyanese side will be led by 30-year-old Test player Leon Johnson and plays Jamaica in their first game from 18:00hrs on October 7 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound.
The Tournament bowls off on October 6 when Antigua & Barbuda face-off with Jamaica from 19:00hrs and the matches including the final on October 14 will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Each team will play four matches with the top two teams advancing to the final.
Johnson, who played the first of 14 T20 matches against the Leeward Islands in 2012 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, has played nine T20 games for Guyana, five of them in the second Edition of the CPL but he is making his Captaincy debut in T20 cricket.
Johnson, who made his First-Class debut as a 16-year-old, has played nine Tests and six ODIs for West Indies and says it’s an honour to lead Guyana once again, this time in the T20 version.
“I have Captained GCC, Georgetown and Demerara in T20 cricket and it’s different from the four-day and 50-over game, strategies are different and you have to be able to adapt to situations and conditions much faster than usual, batting wise and bowling,” said Johnson, Guyana’s most successful First-Class Captain.
Johnson said this team is very different for the Guyana Amazon Warriors since all but one of the 14 players are from Guyana. Jamaican leg-spinner Ramaal Lewis is the non-Guyanese on the trip to Antigua.
“We have seven players in the squad who would have just represented three different Franchises in the CPL, so hopefully they will bring all the experience they gained and from playing and learned from the International players,” said Johnson who plays for Georgetown in the GCB’s Franchise League.
The left-hander, who has 30 fifties and four tons from 89 First-Class games, informed that he was hoping to get back playing CPL Cricket.
“I haven’t entered the draft for the past two years because of contractual obligations, but with good white ball performances in the coming months hopefully I can get back there,” disclosed Johnson.
“I also feel more T20 cricket has to be played in Guyana for players to develop the skills needed for that version of the game,” concluded the down to earth Johnson whose wife has recently delivered twin girls.
Guyana plays Antigua & Barbuda on October 8 from 18:00hrs, they play their return game against Antigua & Barbuda on October 10 from 19:00hrs, then on October 11 they oppose Jamaica from 19:00hrs.
The Guyana team departs for Antigua on Thursday and read: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (V/Capt.), Robin Bacchus, Gajanand Singh, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Jonathon Foo, Anthony Bramble, Kemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Steven Jacobs, Ronsford Beaton, Romario Shepherd, Ricardo Adams, Christopher Barnwell and Ramaal Lewis.