… hails young Paul as a talent ahead of his time

GUYANA Jaguars head coach Esaun Crandon says an all-round team effort was responsible for his side’s eight-wicket win over Barbados Pride on Sunday when the fifth round Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) four-day game concluded at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.

The result gave the Jaguars their fourth victory of the season and they have now extended their lead at the top of the table, moving to 86.4 points, having gained 21.6 from the match.
“It was a fantastic team achievement … a total team effort,” Crandon said.
“He added, “We are on a good role … we outplayed them (Barbados Pride) for majority of the four days.”

Crandon, the former national fast bowler is of the opinion that the win is a huge boost for the Jaguars push for a fourth straight Regional 4-Day title.
“This is definitely a huge win for us,” said Crandon. “We recognise the importance of winning this game and taking a huge jump in the lead. Our aim is to win the next two games at home, and try and get as many points from those two games. So this is a huge boost for us going into the next two games.”
Jaguars will continue their home show, when they play Windward Islands Volcanoes from Thursday.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Crandon feels young all-round sensation Keemo Paul is a talent ahead of his time. There is no doubt that Paul is leading the pack of the region’s brightest young talents and more recently has become a household name both locally and regionally.
This talented all-rounder is proving to be quite a force at the regional scene, making him one of Guyana’s most valuable players at present.

Paul took his second first-class five-wicket haul, and a match-haul of 9-122, which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award – an great achievement. Crandon expressed his admiration of the 19-year-old.

“He’s a real talent. If he keeps going the way he’s going, there will be bigger and better things on the horizon for him for sure.”
On the other hand, Crandon also hailed the contribution of fast bowler Keon Joseph and the makeshift opening pair of Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Chanderpaul Hemraj, along with Gudakesh Motie.