Players have responded well under pressure – Johnson

Guyana Jaguars captain credited his players handling of various pressure situations to them winning the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League Digicel regional 4-day championship for four consecutive seasons.
“Players have also responded well when put under pressure. We have won a lot of games over the last four seasons, but it has not always been smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination – and at those times, when we have come under pressure, players have always found a way to dig us out of the hole,” the Test batsman stated.

Jaguars were confirmed as winners of the 2017-18 championship, after their nearest rivals Barbados Pride settled for a draw with Windward Islands Volcanoes in their rain-affected match on Sunday.
Jaguars completed a nail-biting, two-wicket victory over Jamaica Scorpions inside three days in their eighth-round match on Saturday at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, taking them to an unassailable 135 points – with two rounds of games remaining.
It is the fourth straight Headley/Weekes Trophy, symbol of Windies First-Class supremacy, for the Jaguars, following in the footsteps of previous incarnations of the Pride and Scorpions.
“As you can imagine, it’s a very good feeling for us to win the title for a fourth straight year,” said Jaguars captain Leon Johnson. “I am someone that delves into the history of the game – Barbados would have achieved this in the late 1970s, and Jamaica did it between 2008 and 2012.
“We are only the third team to have achieved something like this in Windies First-Class history. It is very pleasing to be part of it and to be at the helm for the fourth consecutive year of us winning this title. It is testament to our hard work. We have won it with two matches remaining, which is a feat in itself.”
The unit have kept the core of the squad the throughout the seasons and when the senior players departed for international duties, the younger generation filled the role successfully.
“It is also testament to the way we have played this season. As a team, we have played well. I think everyone who has played has made a contribution, some more significantly than others, but I do not think there is a game that we played where someone did not put up their hand up and played well for the team with bat or ball.”
He further elaborated, “Winning this title will mean a lot to the people of Guyana – many of whom have supported us throughout. We have worked hard leading up to this tournament, but it is not just the senior team. Our junior teams have been consistently winning and I think it is just testament of the hard work that the players have put in to being successful.”
The champs will now travel to Barbados where they face the Pride beginning on Thursday after which they close the season against Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at home beginning on January 18 at Providence.
“We want to play unbeaten this season. We accomplished this two seasons ago (2015-16) and this is our aim for those two matches.”