Johnson says first innings batting let down Jaguars against B’dos

Jan 22, 2020 Sports

By Sean Devers

Barbados Pride rebounded from a first-round defeat with a second-round victory over five-times defending Champions Guyana Jaguars in the CWI Colonial Medical Insurance Regional 4-day Championship last Sunday at the Kensington Oval.

Vishual Singh had a tough time during his top score of 79 in Guyana’s 2nd innings.

Skipper Leon Johnson says first innings batting let down Jaguars.

The host completed a seven-wicket win after the Bajans made 389 in their first innings, replying to Guyana’s first innings’ total of 209.
Guyana were bowled out for 258 in their second innings which left Barbados needing 79 runs for victory. Pride were able to reach 79-3 for an emphatic win.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul top scored with 66 from 404 minutes but only 20-year-old debut Kevin Sinclair (43) and Chris Barnwell (32) and Bajan Raymon Reifer (20) and pacer Nial Smith (17) reached double figures in Guyana’s first innings.
Vishaul Singh (79), Chanderpaul Hemraj (42), Reifer (31) and Barnwell (26) were the only batsmen to reach 20 in their second innings.
Thirty-two-year-old Jaguars Skipper Leon Johnson was disappointed with his team’s batting performance in their first innings.

Keon Joseph captured five wickets in a losing cause.

“I don’t think we batted well in our first innings in the game….don’t think we batted enough overs or scored enough runs in our first innings. I don’t think we really achieved any of our batting targets and that let us down a bit,” said Johnson who made 0 and 17 in Barbados after getting 59 in the first round in Antigua.
Keon Joseph picked up 4-75, while rookie pacer Smith follow-up his eight-wicket match haul in Antigua with 2-84.
“Barbados scored 380 but I think the bowlers did a very good job, 380 on that surface was a good indication of how well the bowlers bowled,” said Guyana’s most successful First-Class Captain.
Johnson, who has five centuries and 38 fifties from 111 First-Class matches, said he did not think the bounce was an issue or a concern for the batsmen in Barbados although several batsmen got hit with short balls.
“I have played on quicker pitches with more bounce in Barbados. This pitch was inconsistent and played two-paced….don’t know how much preparation went in to it.
A few balls were keeping low and some reared up. But that’s cricket and we can’t complain too much about the surface,” added Johnson.
Johnson informed that Reifer has a concussion and is under surveillance in Barbados.
Sinclair replaced 34-year-old leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo but cleared up speculation that Bishoo was dropped for the younger Sinclair.
“Bishoo was not feeling too well in Barbados,” Johnson informed.
Meanwhile, CWI has requested the West Indies players take a rest and will miss the third round so Guyana will be without Romario Shepherd and Shimron Hetmyer.
T&T’s Red Force are early leaders with 29.6 points, while Windwards Volcanoes (29.4) and Barbados Pride (25.6) occupy the second and third spots respectively.
The Jaguars are fourth on the points table with 24.8 points after a win and a loss in their first two matches.
Guyana who won their opening match against the Leeward Islands by 10-wickets in Antigua will face-off with T&T’s Red Force from tomorrow at Providence in the third round.

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