Jaguars depart for 6th-round clash against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force

2018-2019 Regional 4-Day Tournament…
– new-look playing XI expected

By Brandon Corlette

Four-time defending champions and current table leaders, Guyana Jaguars will welcome their senior players back to the squad for the sixth- round clash against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.

The Jaguars will clash with their regional arch-rivals from Thursday, January 31, at the Queens Park Oval from 10:00h, Eastern Caribbean time.
Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer and Chanderpaul Hemraj, who missed the fifth-round clash against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes due to Cricket West Indies President’s XI duties, are set to return. Reifer, Singh and Hemraj are all players who have West Indies’ experience: Reifer played one Test match, Singh played three, and Hemraj played six One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

Hemraj, who is the firs- choice opener, is expected to replace fellow left-handed opening batsman, Trevon Griffith. Hemraj has played one match in the 2018-2019 season against Barbados, when he scored a masterful 144 at the top of the order against a Test-playing bowling line-up. Meanwhile, Griffith has struggled this season: in four matches and eight innings, he scored 131 runs at an average of 18.71. Griffith has looked attractive in the batting crease all season, but he is currently going through a bad patch with his highest score this season being 37.
Singh has had a fairly good start to this 2018-2019 season, scoring 177 runs in the three matches he played. Singh, who has proved over the seasons to be the rock in the Jaguars middle order, is expected to walk into the Jaguars team, regaining his number four batting position. This season, Singh has an average of 44.25 with two half-centuries and his highest score being 90.

Reifer, who has been a valuable asset to the Jaguars team, will return to the squad after playing one match this season, against Barbados. Reifer scored 90 runs in that match with a high score of 75 and picked up five wickets in both innings of the match. With Sherfane Rutherford not being a consistent performer in the Jaguars squad with bat and ball, he may be rested in the sixth-round clash. Rutherford played three matches this season, scoring 64 runs in five innings at a below-par-average of 12.80. Rutherford had scores of 54,0,0,6 and 4 in the five innings this season. His bowling has not had an impact this season with 20 overs in three matches and two wickets to his name.
The Leon Johnson-led Jaguars team will be aiming to bounce back after a two-wicket defeat by the Hurricanes. The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force team will be eyeing their second win of the season under Denesh Ramdin’s captaincy and newly-appointed Head Coach, Mervyn Dillon. The Red Force are in fifth position after four matches this season; their opening batsman, Jeremy Solozano has been their leading batsman this season with 289 runs, inclusive of one century.
Jaguars will be wary of the Red Force spin wizard, Imran Khan, who has 19 wickets thus far in the four matches he has played this season. Red Force will miss the likes of Shannon Gabriel and Darren Bravo who are currently in the West Indies Test team playing against England.