Jaguars hunting win first against Windies ‘B’ under lights

By Clifton Ross

After a shaky start, the Guyana Jaguars would want to pounce on the West Indies ‘B’ team, come this evening when the two sides clash in another Group ‘A’ match under lights at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana suffered a 35-run loss in their first game versus the Trinidad Red Force, while their opponents are still on a high following their win over Canada in the first match. The Jaguars would want to correct their mistakes from the other evening, most notably in their batting department, which saw skipper Leon Johnson and opener Trevon Griffith being the only players to cross the 30-run mark.
The Jaguars’ star-studded batting line-up looked a bit scratchy in the opening game. Against a less hostile side, the likes of Chandrapaul Hemraj, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd would need to quickly rebound with the bat, should they gain early momentum.
The Windies side showed they were capable of setting big totals, as they racked up over 300 runs against the Canadians. The ‘B’ team will call on their ‘A’ players to come to the front, as they did before with skipper Marlon Samuels easing to a century against ordinary bowling by his standards, while Yannic Cariah grafted a half-century to get his campaign on the road.
Windies U-19 star Kimani Melius hit 46 as he warmed up, while Guyanese Tevin Imlach also looked good with the bat and behind the stumps. Talented former U-19 batsman Keagan Simmons is another player who would want to get his show up and running.
In the bowling department, Guyana would feel a bit assured, especially with the form of Shepherd and his fellow quick Clinton Pestano, who shared 6 wickets in the last game, and could play bigger roles, given their performance at the venue a night ago. Reifer; Barnwell, who also had 2 wickets in the last game; spinners Ramaal Lewis and Veerasammy Permaul are match-winners with the ball.
Windies ‘B’ also have good bowling, with Odean Smith, Chemar Holder and Ronsford Beaton being their frontline fast options, and Samuels and Cariah offering something in the slower departments.
Pressure, if any, will be on the Jaguars, as they look to rebound from their loss against the Red Force, while the Windies would want to stretch their win-streak as they go deeper into the tournament.