Friday, March 29, 2024

Guyana praised

Date:

Share post:

KINGSTON – Captain Leon Johnson has hailed the achievement of Guyana Jaguars after they wrapped up their fourth straight Digicel Professional Cricket League Regional Four-Day Championship title with two rounds to spare.

With second placed Barbados Pride managing to earn only 7.6 points from their tame draw against Windward Islands Volcanoes at Kensington Oval on Sunday, it left Jaguars with an unassailable lead on 135 points.

“As you can imagine, it’s a very good feeling for us to win the title for a fourth straight year,” Johnson said.

“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 West Indies’ 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.”

Jaguars entered the eighth round with a healthy lead, almost 43 points clear of Pride, and earned a further 17 points following their nerve-jangling two-wicket win over Jamaica Scorpions at Sabina Park on Saturday.

The victory was their sixth in eight outings this season without defeat and Johnson praised the commitment of his players, stresssing they were now focussed on finishing the campaign unbeaten.

“It is also testament to the way we have played this season. As a team, we have played well,” the Test batsman said.

“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 their hand up, and played well for the team with bat or ball.

“We have two matches remaining – against Pride and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force – and we want to play unbeaten this season. We accomplished this two seasons ago (2015-16) and this is our aim for those two matches.”

Jaguars have been carried by strong performances from their senior players with wicketkeeper Anthony Bramble (494 runs) and Vishaul Singh (485) their leading run-scorers, and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul taking 44 wickets.

Veteran former Test batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has also been key with 333 runs from six matches, with 103 half-centuries.

However, Johnson said the players’ conditioning and mental toughness had also been crucial to the winning campaign.

“There are a number of factors that contributed to our recent success. Fitness is a big part of it,” he explained.

“Our players have remained fit throughout the competition. We have not had a lot of injuries during this period, and we have not had to change a lot of players and bring in new players.” (CMC)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

No decision yet on Lester Vaughan School

A firm decision has not yet been made regarding when the Lester Vaughan School will be reopened. Following a...

BDF to conduct simulation exercise on April 2 & 3

The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) will conduct a Mass Casualty Simulation Exercise from Tuesday, April 2, to Wednesday,...

Barbadians reminded to file taxes online as filing season starts

The Barbados Revenue Authority (the BRA) is advising that tax filing season for 2023 begins on April 1 this...

Minister Abrahams’ statement on Ismail Patel’s passing

Below is the full statement by Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams: I was saddened to...