By Stephan Sookram

GUYANA Jaguars four-day skipper Leon Johnson has hailed the work of players on the field who have been taking the game to new levels by producing championship-winning performances to lift divisional titles.Johnson’s Guyana Jaguars, the two-time champions of the Professional Cricket League (PCL), along with the Guyanese players on the West Indies Women and U-19 World Cup teams were on Monday evening honoured by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

And the left-hander, who spoke as the team’s representative, contended that “Cricket is on the rise”.
Johnson, a former West Indies U-19 captain hailed teammates, the management and coaches as well as other divisional players, calling on them to continue the hard work.
Speaking from a personal standpoint, the GCC player said that while winning back-to-back four-day titles means the world to the team moving forward, their only hope is to replicate those performances.
Master of Ceremonies, GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie, contended that the Jaguars will have the option to retain only 10 players while the rest will return to the draft which means that the franchise could field different players for the new season.
He added, “Since the new draft is coming up, the players who did well over the past few years we have decided to honour them before we lose them.”
The GCB secretary, also a member of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), reminded that the locals won the U-15 as well as U-19 titles and urged the good work to continue at the lower levels in order to see a smooth transition through sides.
Meanwhile Commissioner on the National Sports Commission’s board, James Bond, who represented Director Christopher Jones, cited the obvious unifying effect that the sport of cricket has on persons coming from different spheres.
Meanwhile the franchise players, managers and coaches each received a solid gold Championship ring which carries a semiprecious stone on the top and has engraved the years of the two seasons that the side won the PCL.
Monday night’s ceremony also featured Tremayne Smartt and Shemaine Campbelle, the Guyanese who were a part of the West Indies Women’s ICC World T20 triumph as well as Guyana’s U-19 World Cup winners Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Tevin Imlach.
The ladies of the World Cup-winning team each received a gold chain while the three U-19 players received rings as well, with the exception of Hetmyer who got a ring for being a part of the Jaguars Team and a chain for his U-19 World Cup success.
Gizmos & Gadgets in turn, presented the U-19 trio with a pair of Serengeti designer shades.