They are presently seen as the regional giants – the powerful Guyana Jaguars team led by Leon Johnson, will play their first of five matches at home.
The National Stadium, Providence, Guyana will see the best regional players today, January 10, 2019, compete in high-quality cricket from 09:30h.
After defeating the Barbados team, Guyana Jaguars made three changes to the squad that will play the Windward Islands Volcanoes.
The talismanic Shimron Hetmyer, fast-bowling all-rounder Keemo Paul and opening batsman Trevon Griffith are the latest additions to the squad.
Fresh from his career-best knock of 144 against Barbados Pride, duty calls for Chandrapaul Hemraj, who will represent Windies President’s XI team, along with Raymon Reifer and Vishaul Singh, Guyana Jaguars leading run scorer this season.
Singh, who has accumulated 177 runs in the first three rounds of this tournament, among them two half-centuries, including a knock of 90, continues to impress while Reifer continues to show his worth at the regional level with both bat and ball.
Changes are often made to the Guyana Jaguars team, with players being absent owing to international duties.
The strong bench of the Jaguars has ensured that this does not affect their unbeaten run in the Regional 4-Day Tournament. Hetmyer and Paul are both international players who will only strengthen the formidable Jaguars unit. Griffith has a similar attacking approach as Hemraj and the top order will not be affected by his selection.
Hetmyer, who is looking forward to playing this match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes, is rated as one of the better batsmen currently in the Caribbean and will want to score some heavy runs for his country.
After a great 2018 playing international cricket, Hetmyer will want to transfer his form to the First-Class arena to obtain maximum preparation for the England series, starting January 23.
Paul, who has recently recovered from a finger injury, is set to play his 17th First-Class match. The Essequiban all-rounder, who scored a century on home turf, will further add to the batting depth in the Jaguars team. Paul took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh in his most recent T20 match, and will be looking to kick up some good pace and add to his 57 wickets at the First-Class level.
Windward Islands Volcanoes Assistant Coach Fernix Thomas said his team was fully prepared for the Jaguars challenge. Volcanoes have won two matches after they suffered a defeat at the hands of the Guyana Jaguars.
When asked how important Devon Smith was to the squad, he replied, “Devon Smith is well capable, and when you see his name, expect centuries.”
The Volcanoes team are expecting a spin-dominant encounter since the pitch at Providence is dry. Sunil Ambris and Shane Shillingford are the notable losses from the Volcanoes squad, but they are still confident of putting up a good challenge. Thomas further added that the strength lies in the Guyana’s bowling with the likes of Veerasammy Permaul, who continues to be a threat to all regional batsmen.
The Volcanoes team, which will be led by Barbadian and former West Indies batsman Kirk Edwards, have Windies fast bowlers in Obed Mc Coy and Test quick Sherman Lewis. Guyana Jaguars full squad for the fourth round reads: Leon Johnson (Captain); Shimron Hetmyer; Keemo Paul; Veerasammy Permaul; Anthony Bramble; Trevon Griffith; Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Christopher Barnwell; Sherfane Rutherford; Keon Joseph; Gudakesh Motie; Clinton Pestano and Romario Shepherd. (Brandon Corlette)
