CENTURIES from Leon Johnson and Chandrapaul Hemraj helped to ease Guyana Jaguars into a comfortable state of mind going into next week’s start of the Regional 4-Day Tournament.

The national team wrapped up their training yesterday at Providence with the last of their two practice games. Looking to bat for longer periods, the players of the Johnson XI used the two days instead of three to up their scoring as they racked up 388-5 at the end of stumps.

Batting one minute shy of 200 minutes, Hemraj lit up the stadium with 8 sweetly-timed fours and six massive sixes as he warmed up for the Regional 4-Dayers with a stylish 104.
He shared a whopping 167-run second-wicket partnership with his national captain Johnson who broke his run drought with an identical score of 104.

The Jaguars captain batted for more than 300 minutes for his century which was decorated with 9 fours and a six before he retired, allowing the other players to have some time.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul also batted himself into some form with his solid 51 at number 4. Chris Barnwell also looked good for his 27 as the Jags premier players had good periods with the bat.

Resuming just four runs shy of a half-century, Hemraj reached his first milestone in a casual manner. The Test opener’s confidence grew, as he found scoring easy and despite his aggression he managed to negate the good deliveries while feasting on the bad ones.
His hundred came in grand fashion as he clobbered Ricardo Adams’ spin for a maximum which he celebrated with his skipper.

Johnson, meanwhile, grafted a much-needed innings together; his timing and temperament seemed to be coming back as he reached his fifty.
Soon after the duo’s celebration, tragedy struck as Alimohamed broke the edge of the centurion, to which keeper Kemol Savory made no mistake in collecting.
After Johnson’s retirement, Chanderpaul continued to wear out the opposition’s bowling on his way to 50, topping off a strong performance for the batsmen. (Clifton Ross)