Seasoned Guyana Jaguars campaigner Veerasammy Permaul firmly believes Jaguars has the batting depth to post totals in excess of 300 runs should the top-order deliver a solid start.
His comments came ahead of their second match of the 2018 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Super50 Cup against United States at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua which gets underway today.
Speaking to Guyana Times Sport after their 35-run victory in their opening Group ‘B’ match against English side Kent on Wednesday, the marque spinner expressed optimism.
Guyana Jaguars will look for a stronger showing with the bat today against United States
“Going into the next game once we get a good start and solid foundation with the batting we possess, we can score over 300 runs. It’s one-day cricket and you need to be positive but not reckless; if you get a good start and don’t lose too many [wickets] you [will] always have the base to push-on”, the Berbician contended.
Jaguars were heading towards defeat had it not been for stellar batting by Shivnarine Chanderpaul followed by Permaul and Devendra Bishoo pulling them from the brink with the ball.
Defending a seemingly inadequate 233, Kent were cruising on 119 for one in the 28th over until Premaul snatched four for 46 and leg-spinner Bishoo, three for 34, to scythe through the innings and send Kent crashing for 198 all out in the 47th over.
The left-arm spinner who took 50 wickets in the four-day championship, topping the charts, revealed the conditions played in the spin twins’ favour.
“They got off to a very good start and soon as the spinners were introduced it pulled back the run rate and that helped us pick up wickets at crucial stages. We never let them back in as we sought to keep the pressure on them by forcing the run-rate to climb.”
He further stated, “It was a great opportunity to play alongside Bishoo again having not played with him for a long while and we really went out and got the ball in the right areas which helped create pressure and brought wickets. It’s always a pleasure to play alongside him since we know what he is capable of achieving.”
Earlier, Chanderpaul, stroked 67 at the top of the order and got support from wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble who made 39, as Jaguars were bowled out within their allotted 50-overs. At one stage they were tottering on 33-3 with captain Leon Johnson and Chandrapaul Hemraj back in the pavilion without troubling the scores.
“We didn’t had the start we were looking for; the pitch was not conducive for stroke-play early into the match and the batsmen probably needed to take their time a little bit more by seeing off the new ball and waiting on the ball balls to put away. We let Kent into the match and Shiv [Shivnarine Chanderpaul] really stood out by helping us to a total we could defend”, the Albion finger spinner posited.
The 28 year-old also believes the batsmen are cognisant of their mistakes and will be looking to make amends as they push for a top-two finish among five teams in their group.
Looking at today’s match, United States will enter down on confidence after being victims of a 162-run hammering at the hands of Leeward Hurricanes on Wednesday. Opener Jaskaran Malhotra stroked a top score of 43 while former West Indies batsman Xavier Marshall struck 40 but none of the other top eight reached double figures in pursuit of 299.
Left-arm pacer Elmore Hutchinson and fellow left-armer Saurabh Netravalkar along with leg-spinner Timil Patel looked to be their most threatening bowlers and will have a tough containing some Jaguars’ batsmen hungry for runs.
Today’s fixture gets underway from 09:00 hrs while the other Group ‘B’ match pits Hurricanes against the formidable Jamaica Scorpions at the Coolidge Cricket ground in a day/night affair which starts at 14:00 hrs.
Jaguars Squad: Ricardo Adams, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Leon Johnson (cpt), Ramaal Lewis, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Clinton Pestano, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
United States Squad: Adil Bhatti, Elmore Hutchinson, Nosthusha Kenjige, Ibrahim Khaleel (cpt) Jaskaran Malhotra, Xavier Marshall, Prashanth Nair, Saurabh Netravalkar, Mrunal Patel, Nisarg Patel, Timil Patel, Usman Rafiq, Roy Silva, Sunny Sohal.
