– Scorpions name Fudadin
Stylish middle-order batsman Akshaya Persaud is the lone newcomer in the Guyana Jaguars 13-man squad for their clash against Jamaica Scorpions in the opening round of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Digicel Regional 4-day match at the National Stadium,
Providence which is slated to commence on Thursday.
Persaud , a former West Indies under-19 selectee, entrance into the squad comes as a result of a splendid Jaguars’ three-day Franchise League where he was deemed the leading run scorer.
He ended the league with 523 runs including two centuries for West Demerara and could possibly find himself in the playing XI given the absence of the seasoned batsmen such as Vishaul Singh and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Shimron Hetmyer.
Another standout from the three-day league who earned a recall is Essequibo’s Anthony Adams.
The player was also named the league’s most valuable player snaring 52 wickets compliments of his wily left-arm spin and was also a force with the bat, scoring some 260 runs, with a century under his belt and a few fifties.
The other notable returns to the squad are fellow youth players Sherfane Rutherford and Bhaskar Yadram along with Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who has fully recovered from a broken thumb he suffered last season against the Scorpions at Sabina Park.
Jaguars are in the hunt for their fourth consecutive title and will once again be led by Test batsman Leon Johnson who will have the service of the experienced Veerasammy Permaul as vice-captain.
Guyana Jaguars Squad reads: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rajendra Chandrika, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Leon Johnson (Captain), Bashkar Yadram , Keemo Paul, Anthony Bramble (wicketkeeper), Sherfane Rutherford, Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain), Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Akshaya Persaud, Anthony Adams.
It is understood that for their the second round clash (November 2-5) in St. Lucia against Windward Volcanoes, the likes of Singh, Keon Joseph and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will join the squad. Singh and Joseph are currently with the West Indies ‘A’ team in Jamaica. Chanderpaul is not available for the first round due to his personal commitments.
Meanwhile,
Guyanese Assad Fudadin and Trevon Griffith have been named in the Scorpions squad. Fudadin, who had declined a Cricket Guyana Inc contract is expected to be the backbone for what on paper seems to be an inexperienced batting unit.
More so, Nikita Miller is expected to miss the match after the veteran left-arm spinner underwent a medical procedure recently and has not recovered in time.
However, he has been included in the squad and named captain even though he will miss the first two matches. In his absence, Paul Palmer has been named the interim captain. The squad departed the island on Monday for Guyana.
Scorpions Squad: Nikita Miller (Captain), Paul Palmer (Interim Captain), Trevon Griffith, Garth Garvey, Brandon King, Assad Fuddadin, Fabian Allen, Romaine Morris, Jason Dawes, Dermal Green, Paul Harrison, Damani Sewell, Dennis Bulli and Keno Wallace.
