Three-time defending champs Guyana Jaguars sustained their number one spot following the end of a highly-competitive third round in the 2017/18 Cricket West Indies (CWI)/Digicel Regional 4-Day Tournament.
Vishaul Singh
Guyana got off to two wins in the opening rounds of the competition but barely escaped the clutches of what would have been their third defeat at the hands of the Leeward Hurricanes, who almost upset the champs’ unblemished run this season.
Things ended in a draw as the remarkable recovery was orchestrated by the 43-year-old veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who crafted his 77th First-Class ton which spared the Jags an agonising defeat to a team which have had their number twice since last season.
With a clean start to the competition, despite the drawn encounter versus the Hurricanes, the Jaguars have managed to accumulate a healthy 46.6 points, 5.2 points ahead of their long-time rivals and next opponents, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, who have a tally of 41.4.
To date, Guyana have two batsmen in the top 10: Vishaul Singh, leading with 258 runs with a best of 119, and wicket-keeper/batsman Anthony Bramble, who has a trifecta of fifties under his belt with 235 runs. Singh’s current average is 129.00 while Bramble’s aggregate is 58.75, making the pair Guyana’s leading run-scorers heading into round four.
Another Guyanese pair have found themselves among the tallies; this time in the bowling division with Veerasammy Permaul and Sherfane Rutherford causing a number of problems for the opposition teams in the previously-concluded rounds.
Permaul, Guyana’s leading wicket-taker has snared 17 victims with his left-arm spin from three matches played to date. He has already passed 400 First-Class wickets and given his track record over the past three seasons, it is likely that he could remain in the top 3 in terms of leading bowlers at the end of the 10 rounds.
Meanwhile, the all-rounder Rutherford has shown that he can punch above his weight by exhibiting great duality, with runs off the bat to go along with his 12 wickets. His haul of 6-32 is also among the current best for bowlers leading up to the fourth round.
The wickets column is, however, dominated by Guyana’s next opponents, the Red Force, who are led by spinner Imran Khan with 18 wickets under his belt to date. The Force also have two centurions in the batting ranks with ex-West Indies wicket-keeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin coming in second with 316 runs, followed by Yannick Cariah rounding off the top 10 with 176 runs.
Overall, the tussle in round four looks to be between the top three teams – Guyana, Trinidad &Tobago and the Leeward Islands, who have a decent point margin ahead of the other three franchises who trail by at least 15 points.
