– says Captain Leon Johnson
As the Guyana Jaguars prepare for the Regional Super50 tournament, which is tentatively set to commence on February 4 in Antigua, some of the Guyana Jaguars players had the luxury of getting match ready in the US Open, which concluded on Sunday last in Florida.
Jaguars captain Leon Johnson said the players began virtual training in May, and when it was safe enough for physical training, the players made use of the La Bonne Intention (LBI) facility. During his chat on the recent Sean Devers Sports Watch, Johnson said Jaguars concluded training for this year on December 22.
“A lot of the guys went to the US Open, so it was good they got cricket under their belts, whether it be T20 cricket,” Johnson said. The senior national cricketers that played in the US Open were Ronsford Beaton, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Gudakesh Motie, Trevon Griffith, Kevin Sinclair, Sherfane Rutherford, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble and Christopher Barnwell.
Opener Hemraj scored the most runs in the US Open season, while Barnwell, Rutherford, Bishoo and Sinclair had some good performances.
Guyana Jaguars suffered elimination by the hands of the United States of America back in the 2019 Super50, thus their search for a Super50 title will continue in February 2021.
Jonathan Foo made 333 runs in the Cricket Guyana Inc. SBF Petroleum 50-overs Franchise league for the championship team, Lower Corentyne, in 2019. Foo made optimum use of his opportunity, finishing the Super50 Cup with 334 runs for Jaguars.
Christopher Barnwell, who racked up 351 runs, was the leading player for Jaguars in an unsuccessful Super50 season in 2019. Jaguars lost four matches and recorded a similar number of wins, and still continue their search for a Super50 title, having been so engaged since 2005.
In the 2019 Super50 campaign, Permaul continued his dominance at the Regional level with 11 wickets, while Ramaal Lewis and Raymon Reifer each had 10 wickets in the Super50 season.
Despite Jaguars’ disappointment in the Super50, the future looks good with the likes of Kevin Sinclair and Ashmead Nedd leading the West Indies Emerging Players to the Super50 title. In the 2021 season, the Emerging Players will not participate, but Nedd will play for Leeward Islands Hurricanes while Sinclair will fancy his chances for the Jaguars. (Brandon Corlette)