Recording three wins and three defeats in eight matches of the CWI PCL Regional 4-Day Championships has been something rare for five-time defending champions the Guyana Jaguars in previous seasons.
Team Guyana Jaguars
A team will not always win, and this is certainly true for the Guyana Jaguars, but with two rounds remaining in this Regional 4-Day season, Jaguars must take time to ponder on their performance with a view to correcting their mistakes and preparing for another season.
Vishaul Singh
The Jaguars certainly cannot be expected to get it correct every time, but one has to wonder whether the time has finally arrived for Johnson and his team to hand over that Regional 4-Day trophy to another team.
Mixed season
Reflecting on the Jaguars season, they began in commanding fashion, rolling over the Leeward Islands by 10 wickets in their opening match in Antigua. Steam train Nial Smith announced himself with 6-55 in a ‘player of the match’ effort.
Leon Johnson
Then Jaguars’ second match saw Barbados Pride trampling them by seven wickets at the Kensington Oval.
As expected, Jaguars bounced back by thumping Trinidad and Tobago Red Force into a 219-run defeat; but in the following match, which was a thriller, the Jamaica Scorpions
Veerasammy Permaul
recording a seven-wicket win over the Jaguars at Providence.
Then, riding on the back of centuries from Leon Johnson and Christopher Barnwell, Jaguars drew their match against Windward Islands Volcanoes, and thereafter inflicted a seven-wicket defeat upon Jamaica Scorpions in their return clash.
But the Leeward Islands held out for a draw against Jaguars in the return clash at Providence, while the 235-run defeat inflicted on the Jaguars by the Barbados Pride is as fresh as a rose in everyone’s memory.
Jaguars batsmen have simply failed to score hundreds, and the bowling has solely revolved around Veerasammy Permaul, who has taken 50 wickets in eight matches.
In previous seasons, Jaguars would have benefited from the efforts of fast bowlers Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Clinton Pestano et al. This time around, these players have moved up and gained West Indies selection, while Pestano has been injured.
This season, Smith has been bringing in the fast bowling points with his 20 wickets. Hence the bowling effort by Jaguars this season has not been collective, compared to other seasons.
Poor performers, top performers
Telling it like it is, the Jaguars’ batting has been below par. After the eight rounds played, only two centuries have been recorded.
Johnson has led from the front with 472 runs in the 14 innings in which he batted. He has a high-score of 189* at an average of 36.30.
Barnwell, who has been wearing the “Mr. Consistent” tag in Regional cricket, has 435 runs at an average of 33.37.
Vishaul Singh has scored 381 runs, after missing out on two centuries; while Anthony Bramble has 339 runs.
The left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul has been struggling, and has only 315 runs at 24.23. Despite his poor performances, he has been getting an extended run in the starting XI.
His fellow opener Chandrapaul Hemraj has 329 runs with an average of 36.55 in only six matches. He is one of the many batsmen who failed to convert his three half-centuries into triple figures.
Raymon Reifer, who has been the reliable campaigner for a number of seasons, has 230 runs but has not recorded a single half-century.
Permaul has been exceptional with his 50 wickets. His best bowling figures are 8-18, and he has a match haul of 15-77.
Smith, in second position, has 20 wickets at an average of 29.30, with two five-wicket hauls.
Reifer (16) Keon Joseph (12) and Kevin Sinclair (12) have been in the wickets. After the eight rounds of what is described as a mixed season, Jaguars are tied in third position with Jamaica Scorpions on 91.8 points.
If all goes well, and the global pandemic of coronavirus subsides so that play in the 4-Day Championships resumes, Jaguars will be hoping to finish on a high, and hope for a miracle to retain their title.
