Pride hoping to open old wounds against Jaguars

Barbados Pride Head Coach Emmerson Trotman is of the view his team’s track record against the Guyana Jaguars in Regional 4-Day cricket should be a reminder for the defending champs at the start of today’s fifth round of the 2017/18 Cricket West Indies (CWI)/Digicel 4-day championship.

The two teams will battle at the National Stadium, Providence and Trotman, following the Pride’s training session on Wednesday said his team’s record versus Guyana will play a key role over the next few days.
“They’re confident (Guyana) but when it comes to playing Barbados, they’re aware Barbados can beat them. Last season we were close couple times, unfortunately one game in Guyana was disrupted by rain, then back in Barbados we had 90 odd to chase and we didn’t go about it the right way; but had we done that we could have won that as well”, admitted Trotman.
A few seasons ago, Guyana suffered the most horrific defeat when they failed to successfully chase a mediocre 2nd innings target of 70 and were shot down for 69 compliments of the Pride at Providence.
This season both are sides still missing a few big players to international duties but Trotman’s team will be feeling the brunt of the loss with just a handful of experienced players on show versus a well-stacked Jaguars unit.
Despite the disadvantage, the Coach is putting his trust in the likes of; likes of Kevin Stout, Anthony Alleyne, Shamarh Brooks, Johnathan Carter, Jomel Warrican to name a few, who he said will need to do the bulk of the work for Barbados.
“The senior players are out which gives the other players an opportunity, they know the big boys are out so they will be looking to grab their opportunity, because they’re committed and hard-working. Those Guys are seniors guys and we have discussed their roles, they will guide the youngsters who are good listeners”, stated the coach.
Rayon Griffith, the Guyana Jaguars Assistant Coach was adamant his team will continue their form as they look to win every match they play going forward. Griffith was also weary of the Pride who despite missing a few big guns still have enough talent to challenge the unbeaten defending champions.
Barbados currently sits in third place with 42.4 points following four rounds, compared to the unbeaten Jaguars who have a whopping 64.8 points. Both sides will rely on their young, but experienced crop of players who have been exposed to international or West Indies ‘A’ cricket in recent times.
Vishaul Singh, Leon Johnson, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Anthony Bramble, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chandrapaul Hemraj have all been among the runs for Guyana since the competition commenced, with Singh the only batsman in recent months to play international cricket.
Meanwhile, Barbados will need much from their relatively young side, with the likes of Brooks, Alleyne, Stout, former West Indies Test spinner Warrican and current West Indies spinner Ashley Nurse all making up for the heavy losses of players like Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Shane Dowrich, Kraigg Brathwaite and others.
Both sides endured two days of intense training at the Stadium ahead of the match which is expected to bowl off from 9:30 h.
Guyana Jaguars: Leon Johnson (captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Anthony Bramble, Keemo Paul Akshaya Persaud, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie
Barbados Pride: Shamarh Brooks (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Jonathan Carter, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Aaron Jones, Shayne Moseley, Ashley Nurse, Mario Rampersaud, Shamar Springer, Kevin Stoute, Jomel Warrican, Kenroy Williams.