`We are a good team, good teams always fight hard’ – coach Chanderpaul
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine Chanderpaul

… Jaguars didn’t bat well in last round

By Clifton Ross

GUYANA Jaguars batting coach Shivnarine Chanderpaul credited the fighting spirit of the defending champions despite their narrow loss to the Jamaican Scorpions last Sunday, as they prepare for a possible rebound in Round 5 against Windwards Volcanoes tomorrow in Antigua.

The Guyana and West Indies batting icon, following the end to Sunday’s dramatic 7-run loss in a topsy-turvy Round 3 encounter against the last-placed Scorpions, was still in high spirits despite the Jaguars batting not clicking at all this previous round.
Chanderpaul, despite the horrific loss lauded his boys for their courage and heart shown especially by the lower-order, who almost pulled off one of the most daring heists in the Professional Cricket League (PCL).

“It was a great effort from the last two guys (Keon Joseph and Veerasammy Permaul). It shows we still have fight and it doesn’t matter if we are down to the last guy or not, we are going to fight all the way,” said the Jags batting coach.

Going by the Jaguars’ natural instincts to rebound from such losses, Chanderpaul who has been in many gruelling battles during his playing years, said what he saw by Guyana even in an uphill situation was just a reminder of the team’s never-say-die spirit which they have embodied ever since giving birth to the championship dynasty.

“We are a good team and good teams always fight hard. Thinking about international teams like Australia this is the way they play. Those teams would never give up until you are all out, so you have to fight all the way to the end because those are the signs of a good team.”

In a match where bowlers, most notably the spinners, took centre stage and Jermaine Blackwood’s 81 was the top-score overall, no batsman in the Guyana team seemed set for a big score in either innings, prompting the batting coach to rue the shoddy batting returns.

“We didn’t bat as well as we needed to bat. We needed to bat a little better. It was probably difficult to bat on the pitch because if you look at the scores no team reached 200 on the surface. So it’s difficult on a pitch like that, but with that being said both teams had the same opportunities to bat on it and we came out at the backend of it,” admitted the ex-Guyana captain.

With no hundreds in the camp, despite a number of half-centuries Chanderpaul said he wants to stick to the initial team plan when it comes to their approach, especially with the tournament now officially reaching the half-way mark.

“As I said it was not an easy pitch to bat on, because some of the guys had starts but were never able to carry on. We have a lot of 50s but no hundreds yet. We have some plans and goals that we have set for ourselves. It’s still early in the tournament so hopefully coming down to the next couple of game we could start hitting them,” added the 45-year-old.

Guyana’s attention will now shift to tomorrow’s start to Round 5 where they seek to get back on top of the points table when they clash with Volcanoes in Antigua. Wrapping up his interview, the ex-West Indies captain said the champs will be looking to get acclimatised and assess conditions before knowing exactly what their plans will be for the next battle.

“When we get there (Antigua) we will see what the conditions are like. We have to look at that and what we are going to do and what our plans are going to be, because we have our team goals in terms of batting fielding and bowling which are also personal goals that we carry. When we get there we will see the conditions and see how we can adjust ahead of the match,” Chanderpaul ended.

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