Guyana Jaguars will kick off the 2018 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Super50 tournament against English County side Kent today at the Sir Viv Richards Ground, Antigua.
The reigning 4-Day champs winged out on Sunday for Antigua & Barbuda where the elusive Super 50 title campaign officially gets underway as they began fine-tuning ahead of the clash against the English County Champs.
The Jaguars will be brimming with confidence after winning the Regional 4-Day title for a record 4th consecutive year, thus entering the 50 over tourney driven by form and momentum.
Shiv Chanderpaul leading the Guyana Jaguars in their fielding drills on Tuesday at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground (CWI Media Photos)
With six newbies in the side, Guyana seemed poised to bring a new exciting flair to this year’s competition as they have not been in the best limited overs form; last winning the title some 15 years ago.
Guyana has a good blend of experience, youth and form given their makeup and their recent performances. Given the makeup of their side, it is clear that Guyana will be seeking to win their games on the backs of their star-studded batting line-up.
The Jags will field a team led by skipper Leon Johnson and features players; likes veteran Shiv Chanderpaul, current West Indies trio of Shimron Hetmyer, Devendra Bishoo and Raymon Reifer along with 4-Days leading keeper/batsman Anthony Bramble.
Rookie opener Chandrapaul Hemraj, who enters the 50 overs with more than 600 runs under his belt from the 4-Day tournament, will be tasked with giving the Jaguars a good start along with the aggressive Hetmyer, who scored a ton in the Jaguars practice match on Friday at Providence.
Meanwhile, their likely aggressors who will be tasked with most of the power-hitting as well as the part-time seam and spin; include all-rounders; Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Ramaal Lewis, Keemo Paul and Ricardo Adams.
The new balls will most likely be in the hands of Shepherd and Paul while spin twins Devendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul are likely to control the middle overs.
Kent is no shy of talent or firepower as 28 year-old Sam Northeast, with more than 8,000 First Class runs; leads as side of talented young Englishmen who have been nipping at the selectors ears back home.
Opener Daniel Bell-Drummond, former England T20 skipper James Tredwell, all-rounder Matt Coles, Alex Blake are among Kent’s top players to watch out for in the competition.
The Jaguars got in some much need practice on Monday and Tuesday as they fine-tune for today’s crucial encounter which will set the tone for their first 50-overs title since 2005.
The first ball will be sent down at 09:00hs local time at the Sir Viv Richards Ground.
The other Group B match which is also slated for today, will see hosts the Leeward Islands Hurricanes battling the United States in a day-night match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground beginning at 14:00h.
Kent full squad: Sam Northeast (Captain), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Adam Ball, Hugh Bernard, Alex Blake, Matt Coles, Sean Dickson, Will Gidman, Calum Haggett, Matt Hunn, Imran Qayyum, Adam Riley, Oliver Robinson, Adam Rouse, Ivan Thomas, James Tredwell
Guyana Jaguars squad: Shimron Hetmyer, Shiv Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Leon Johnson, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Clinton Pestano, Ricardo Adams and Ramaal Lewis. (Clifton Ross)
