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‘GCB’s League structure, fitness & positivity’ reasons for Jaguars’ success says Coach
Head Coach Esuan Crandon (right) & Rayon Griffith have built this team into a winning one.
By Sean Devers in Trinidad
In association with Vnet, Regal,
Noble House Seafoods & Cascadia Hotel
Guyana Jaguars Head Coach 36-year-old Esuan Crandon is a former Guyana fast bowler who took 90 wickets in 38 First-Class matches, 29 List ‘A’ wickets from 28 games and 14 wickets from 18 t20 matches. He was good enough with the bat to score a half-century in First-Class and T20 cricket.
Kaieteur Sports caught up with the Berbician and asked about the Jaguars preparation, their success so far in the Regional Super50 and their chances of winning the title for the first time in 13 years.
Guyana’s won the last of its nine 50-over titles when Shiv Chanderpaul’s team beat Barbados in the 2005 KFC Cup at Bourda, but despite already qualifying for its 12th semi-final with two matches and winning two of those semi-finals during that period, they have not been able to cross that final hurdle.
The last time Guyana reached the final Sunil Narine took 6-9 as Guyana were bowled out for their lowest total (65) in 2015 final.
But the Jaguars are enjoying their best showing in recent times and we asked Crandon his thoughts on the reason for this.
Kaieteur Sports (KS): How do you sum up the Jaguars performance?
Esuan Crandon (EC): At the moment we are playing some very good and exciting all-round cricket. We’ve managed to tick most of the boxes in all of our games. I’ve seen great progress and improvement game after game.
KS: What areas are you most pleased with and which areas are you disappointed with?
EC: I am most happy with the way our batsmen have been playing. I saw confidence and positivity from them.
As long as they lay that solid foundation for the middle and lower order to build on we will win games because of our bowling strength, depth and options available.
The bowling has been outstanding throughout the tournament and no team has managed 250 against us. The fielding has grown from strength to strength. We have got some areas to improve on in all departments and we will be working on those things at our next practice session.
I think the success thus far is a reflection of our set up (structure) back home. We have done a lot of work during the off-season. A lot of emphasis was placed specifically on white ball cricket and overall fitness. We also saw players perform well in the Jaguars 50 overs league and got confidence from that.
I would like our batters to fight a little harder in pressure situations and play situations much smarter and obviously convert those starts.
KS: Why do you think the Jaguars have been doing so well in this tournament?
EC: The environment is a competitive one where players are not allowed to feel like they can just go through the motions and do as they feel like and get off with mediocre performances.
We have our Academy feeder system which provides young talented players the opportunity to develop their skill and are rewarded based on their fitness, attitude and performance in the Jaguars League.
Young Ail-Mohammed and Savory would’ve performed well and were rewarded and the same could be said for others previously.
KS: What did the Guys do when Jaguars drew the bye?
EC: The last couple of days the guys got the day off to rest, reflect and do rehabilitation work. The team had a practice session on Wednesday (indoor nets) and a team dinner on Wednesday night. Thursday’s practice was optional.
KS: How confident are you that the Jaguars can win the title this season after 13 years without winning?
EC: Look I am very confident at the moment. When I sat and watch this team play the way we are at the moment it gives me that sense of ease and satisfaction to an extent but we understand that we need not to relax and get complacent.
Winning this tournament isn’t going to be a walk in the park but working hard together and peaking at the right time is our recipe for success.
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