By Clifton Ross

AFTER demolishing the Leeward Hurricanes in the opening round, defending champions Guyana Jaguars seek to continue their hunt when they look to capitalise on their successful track record against arch rivals, Barbados Pride.

Today’s encounter shifts to Pride’s backyard at Kensington Oval, where the home team will be desperate to rebound from their 3-wicket loss to the Windward Volcanoes in the opening round.

Jaguars, with momentum firm  after their 10-wicket mauling of the Hurricanes sit at the top of the table with 21 points while their opponents languish in second to last (5th spot) with 4.2 points, making today’s encounter one based on a tale of the tapes between the two familiar franchises.

Regarding track-record, Barbados will be staring at an uphill task if they seek to beat the champs, as they have not won a match against Guyana in a number of years.

In the last 5 encounters since 2016-17 season, Guyana have beaten Pride three times, with the last being in 2019 while they managed to secure a pair of drawn games along the way.

Fast-forward to today’s game and the Jags, who put on a batting clinic against the Hurricanes, will be keen on maintaining their form. Seasoned campaigner Chris Barnwell missed a ton by 20-odd runs as he continued his excellent batting form which peaked during the Super50s.

Skipper Leon Johnson along with openers Chandrapaul Hemraj and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who all struck fifties, looked ominous as they looked to be hitting peak form.

Apart from the aforementioned, Vishaul Singh and Anthony Bramble were the only two senior players to miss out during the run-fest but could come to the party against Pride.

Pacer Niall Smith returned 8 wickets and got support from the other seamers while the veteran spinner Veerasammy Permaul could possibly inch a step closer to the 500-wicket mark, should he maintain his knack of getting wickets.

Barbados, meanwhile, will know that their task is immense having lost to the Volcanoes, who are not on the elite level as Jaguars. Pride also have history on their side after beating Guyana in the 2013-14 season after the Champs were bowled out in the 2nd innings during their pursuit of just 70-odd runs.

Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite got some runs in the first game while Kyle Mayers struck his maiden 4-Day ton. But Jonathan Carter, Shamarh Brooks, Ashley Nurse Jomel Warrican all played for the Windies.

First-class stars in Shayne Moseley, Justin Greaves and Keon Harding who helped the WIEP to win the Regional Super50 recently also add some much-needed buff to the Pride who will need more from their show-time squad.

In the last two encounters as of recent 2019 season, Raymon Reifer, the Barbados-born all-rounder and one of the main weapons in the Jaguars team, bagged 9 wickets and scored a half-century.

The other match was dominated by Hemraj and Bramble who hit majestic centuries while Reifer again chipped in with runs as well as wickets against his countrymen.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Scorpions battle the Volcanoes at Sabina Park and Trinidad Red Force square off against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Brian Lara Ground.

Matches for Round 2 are scheduled to bowl off at 10:00hrs.