Jaguars resume training, ahead of another gruelling four-day title defence 
Reigning 5-time Regional 4-Day champs Guyana Jaguars recently returned to their gritty training sessions ahead of next month’s start to the 2020 tournament.
Reigning 5-time Regional 4-Day champs Guyana Jaguars recently returned to their gritty training sessions ahead of next month’s start to the 2020 tournament.

WITH  Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day tournament set to bowl off  on January 9, 2020, defending champions Guyana Jaguars will be keen on shifting into play mode as they recently resumed training for the long season ahead.

Guyana have reigned supreme for the last five seasons, going virtually unmatched in the longest version of the Professional Cricket League (PCL) 4-Day tourney. Chasing the elusive Super50 title went left for the Jaguars, who managed to lose in the semis, thus adding another year into their decade-plus pursuit of the title they held twice back in the days.

Obviously more suited for four-day cricket, Leon Johnson and his men have seemingly shrugged off their woes from their failed attempt at recapturing  Super50 title and have now placed all their emphasis back on training and successfully defending the title for a record 6th straight year.

The team restarted their usual weekly training last week and will continue to put in work heading into the Christmas holiday season, when they will break their camp and spend time with their families for the holiday.

Much different to years when the season had already begun and the break would have been taken a few rounds into the tournament, ahead of Christmas, franchises will now have adequate time to keep fit, enjoy Christmas and immediately get back to training, as the tourney will get underway roughly the first week of January.

Guyana, like other teams will get no rest, following the holidays, as they open their defence campaign on the road in Antigua when they play Leeward Hurricanes on January 9 when Round 1 of the tournament bowls off.

Off-and-on season training leading up to the tournament has always been crucial for Guyana during their 5-year reign. Their intense training programme has further played a huge role in their approach throughout the competition, as they managed to go unbeaten for all 10 rounds a few seasons back.

Arguably one of the fittest franchises in the PCL, Jaguars will be putting in 4 mandatory days of work each week while players will continue to work independently; whether at their respective clubs or with the academy coaches.  

With a team packed with current Windies players; Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer and Chandrapaul Hemraj, Guyana will be favourites again this year should their top tier group of stars be available during any period of the 10 rounds.

Barring injuries or international fixtures, Guyana will likely feature about 75 percent of their usual suspects who have been instrumental in their 4-Day success over the past 5 years.

Newbies, the likes of wicketkeeper/batsman Kemol Savory and fast-bowler Niall Smith, could also break into the side following successful Regional Super50 debuts, as a number of spots in the team could open up following the upcoming West Indies schedule for 2020.

Also, with pacer Ronsford Beaton banned from bowling due to a suspect action, the blow has now left a huge void in the fast-bowling department, which could likely see his Super50 replacement in either all-rounder Ronaldo Alimohamed or young speedster Smith making a possible debut in the team. (Clifton Ross)

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