Jaguars, Pride rumble at Providence in day/night affair

The National Stadium, Providence over the next four days/nights will be homage to what is expected to be an enthralling clash of the table between leaders Guyana Jaguars and the visiting Barbados Pride in round four of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Digicel Regional 4-Day Tournament.

Just 0.2 points separates the arch rivals in the six-team championship with Jaguars having 33.6 points closely followed by the Pride on 33.4 while Leeward Islands Hurricanes are on 29.4, then Jamaica Scorpions 28.6, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 27 and Windward Islands Volcanoes 17.6.
Added the array of talent on show, the match will be historic significance since it will be the first day/night 4-day match being played at Providence.
The champions certainly have not roared this season as they did over the last two years as they succumb to their first loss after an unbeaten run of 19 matches when they lost to Leeward Islands Hurricanes this year by virtue of a record breaking run-chase.

The reason for the tameness this season could be as a result of in-different batting as none of the batsmen have been able to convert some good starts to score a century, in fact the highest score is 91 which was made by veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
The batting so far has been led by Test player Rajendra Chandrika, who is the leading run-getter with 224 runs followed by Chanderpaul with 200 runs. Talented Shimron Hetymer along with all-rounders Christopher Barnwell and Raymon Reifer have chipped in with useful scores but have not kicked on.
The bowling department which has been the standout unit, will once again be led by spin-twins Veerasammy Permaul and Gudakesh Motie along with ample support from fast bowler Keon Joseph. Permaul has 14 wickets thus far while Motie and Joseph have 11 respectively.

In the opposition’s ranks, Test vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite is one five West Indies players just back from the Tri-Nation One-day International series in Zimbabwe that have been named in the squad.
The others are batsman Jonathan Carter, wicket-keeper/batsmen Shai Hope and Shane Dowrich and off-spinning all-rounder Ashley Nurse.
Skipper Brathwaite in speaking to this publication on Thursday said that “the guys are very excited; it is a key clash for us so we want come out on top.”
He added, “The key is to get 20 wickets, once the batsmen do the job we need to take the wickets because that is only way we can win the game.”
Commenting on playing with the pink ball, the dogged right-hander said “playing with the kookaburra ball in Test matches it gets older fast but we are using Duke ball so we will have to see how it plays, we have see how the ball reacts at night.”
The Bajans have looked good this season, having not loss any of their games winning once and drawing the other two. Their batting was primarily led by stylish left-hander Anthony Alleyne who is leading the tournament’s batting charts with 443 runs and has a high score of 186 which was made against the Trinidad and Tobago red Force.
The pink-ball has known to produce result oriented matches, as it gives bowlers the edge, especially under lights. Some players have voiced concerns over the visibility of the ball but the condition of the ball will be tested on a usually abrasive Providence wicket.
Both teams suffered setbacks in the previous round when it looked like they could have been in pole position for victory. Their chances were badly affected by rain which led to draws in all of the matches during the round.
The Jaguars – on home soil – are always a challenging prospect for visiting teams, but the Pride have been one of the few that can look past conditions and put their hosts on the back-foot.
The two teams have met five times at this venue since it has become the main arena for major regional and international matches in the country and the Pride have equipped themselves well with two wins, including one of the narrowest in the history of the league two seasons back. These matches between the two sides for the past years usually determines the winners at the end of the championship and the home-side, who are hunting for an unprecedented three-peat, will need a good showing in this match.
Jaguars squad reads: Rajendra Chandrika, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Shimron Hetmyer, Leon Johnson (Captain), Vishaul Singh (Vice Captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, RaymonReifer, Anthony Bramble, VeerasammyPermaul, Eon Hooper, GudakeshMotie, Keon Joseph and Christopher Barnwell. Coach is Esuan Crandon, the Assistant Coach/Manager is Rayon Griffith, and the Physio is Beverley Nelson.
Pride squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Omar Phillips, Kemar Roach, Kevin Stoute and Jomel Warrican.