Jaguars  Super50 squad to be announced today

By Rajiv Bisnauth

A number of potential Guyana Jaguars’ players sent out a strong signal to the national selectors, during the first practice game organised by Cricket Guyana Inc. yesterday at the LBI ground on the East Coast Demerara. 

With the national selectors set to announce a 15-man squad for the forthcoming Regional Super50 tournament sometime today, Romario Shepherd, Nial Smith,  Akshaya Persaud, Steven Sankar, and to some extent Jonathan Foo and Tevin Imlack, were the stand-outs yesterday.

Shepherd and Sankar had figures of 4-24 and 4-39 respectively while Smith claimed 3-22. Persaud stroked an unbeaten 51, with Foo and Imlach hitting 35 and 28 respectively.

Meanwhile, in the shortened game, Leon Johnson’s X1 won by two wickets over Hetmyer’s X1.

Earlier, when play began just over an hour late from the schedule start, pacers Shepherd and Smith justified skipper Leon Johnson’s decision to field as they restricted Hetmyer’s X1 to 152 all out in 33.3 overs.

The duo was able to unsettle the top-order rhythm, but a cameo from Ricardo Adams towards the end lifted Hetmyer’s team to a respectable total.

Apart from Adams and Persaud, who was the top-scorer with a composed unbeaten 51, the other batsmen lacked application on what appeared to be a batsman-friendly track.

However, it was the now COVID-free Shepherd who generated some early movement, thereby starting the slide. He removed opener, Chandrapaul Hemraj, after a first-ball four, caught in the slip corridor, at 5-1.

The 25-year-old Smith then drove home the early advantage thereafter.  The pacer, who played two List A games to date, bowled with discipline, and in the process, generated pace and bounce to ensure there were no big partnerships upfront.

He first bowled opener, Kelvon Anderson, the former West Indies youth player, for seven, then removed Shimron Hetmyer (2) and Kemol Savory (9), at 53-4. In between those dismissals, off-spinner Ramal Lewis (1-22), trapped Vishaul Singh lbw for 15.

At that point, Persaud was joined by Bhaskar Yadram, and the duo tried to limit the damage. But that was not to be, as Yadram went off the bowing of left-arm spinner, Gudakesh Motie (1-26), without scoring.

On the other hand, the left-handed Persaud, who progressed through the youth levels, and was a standby player on the West Indies Under-19 team for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 2016 Youth World Cup, remained resolute, hitting three fours and a six before the weather intervened, at 83-6.

Upon resumption, and with the overs further reduced, the batting side then lost Kevin Sinclair, run out for one, but Ricardo Adams, who joined Persaud, produced a late cameo role to help his side reach a satisfactory position at the half-way stage.

The right-handed Adams single-handidly dominated the partnership, striking five sixes and a four in his 47, in a 59-run stand with Persaud before Shepherd claimed the final three wickets of the innings, including the two Adams (Ricardo and Anthony), and Clinton Pestano.

Set a revised target of 143, the bowling side’s spinners then exploited the afternoon conditions upfront, reducing the batting side to 43-4 at one stage.

Off-spinner Sinclair had Assad Fudadin taken at the wicket for four before the leg-spinner, Sankar, removed Johnson (9), Christopher Barnwell (0), and Trevon Griffith (19), in quick succession.

Foo joined Imlach, and was full of confidence, blazing four sixes which took his team towards the winning position.

Antony Adams had 2-12 while Sinclair claimed 2-20.

The second game is billed for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Chronicle Sport understands that the 15-man squad is expected to undergo a COVID-19 test on Thursday.