Johnson says playing “good, solid cricket” is Jaguars’ aim this season

By Clifton Ross

Guyana Jaguars Captain Leon Johnson has said while his team will be chasing Regional Four-Day history this season, they are, nevertheless, affixed on playing a mature brand of cricket when they commence their title defence.

The four-time Four-Day Championship winning skipper told Guyana Times Sport during an exclusive on Tuesday that going into this season, their main goal was to play consistent cricket and worry less about winning.
Johnson, who has led the side valiantly to four straight titles, said while winning the title for a record fifth time in a row would be nice, maintaining their win-streak and level of consistency are the key criteria.

“We want to play good consistent cricket and worry less about winning every game, because we don’t want to be side-tracked if things don’t go our way. It’s about playing good, solid cricket and giving a good account of ourselves, because there were a couple of times we won matches easily, but that was because we put in the hard work,” said Johnson.
With Guyana being a force to reckon with in Four-Day cricket ever since the start of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) back in the 2013/14 season; the Jags have dominated the League, going unbeaten for seasons while effortlessly retaining their title and the team’s leader pointed out that keeping focused on playing good cricket has been, and is, the mantra of the champs.
The Jags bowled off their first of two three-day practice games last week at the Everest Ground, with a number of top perfromances from some senior and junior players who are gunning for spots in this year’s side.
Regarding what he saw during the first practice game, the former West Indies Test player said he was pleased with some of what he saw and urged players to continue playing top-brand cricket.
“I was happy with the three-day practice game, it’s important to get match practice for the four-day league, so it was good for the players to get some match time in the three-day game. A lot of the guys played well, Trevon Griffith scored a ton; a few of the guys got fifties, so it was important for them, because we had no three-day league; so guys needed to get out there and spend time in the middle.” Johnson said.
Regarding the bowlers who also looked good, the left-hander said it was important for them to get some mileage in the legs, especially the fast-bowlers as it would be important when they venture overseas on faster pitches likes the ones in St Lucia and Antigua.
The ex-West Indies Under-19 Captain hailed the players for their desire to train and play leading up to the competition, as he described the atmosphere in the team as good, but restated that there was no need to get overwhelmed and try to prove any point.
“A few of the guys put in a gym session today, because we couldn’t train outdoors, so that’s just one of the things that show that the guys are up for chasing history. I think that the guys are really looking to be a part of it and it would be nice for the country and the team, to put them on the map but we have done it four times before, so I don’t think we need to prove anything to anyone,” the skipper ended.
Meanwhile, weather providing, the players will again break up into two sides and seek to get as much out of the next three days at Providence as they can before the start of the 2018/19 Regional Four-Day Championships, which bowl off the first week in July.