… Shimron Hetmyer named Johnson’s deputy

By Clifton Ross

OPENERS Assad Fudadin and Trevon Griffith are set to make their return to Guyana Jaguars colours following Cricket Guy Inc. (CGI) naming a star-studded team ahead of next month’s start to the 2021 Cricket West Indies (CWI) CG Insurance Super50 tournament.
Long-serving skipper Leon Johnson returns to lead a very robust unit, filled with a number of past/present West Indies players such as Chandrapaul Hemraj, Chris Barnwell, Romario Shepherd who missed the upcoming Bangladesh tour due to testing positive for COVID-19 before making good recovery strides, Shimron Hetmyer, who was named as Johnson’s deputy, along with a number of Windies youth players in the mix.

Windies U-19 all-rounder Kevin Sinclair, who was a part of the West Indies Emerging Players (WIEP), who shockingly won the title last year, left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach, who won the WI U-19 World Cup with Hetmyer a few years ago, pacer Nial Smith who a few seasons ago was the leading wicket-taker and breakout MVP player for the Jags, have all earned places this season.
From a qualified outlook, the return of left-hand openers Fudadin and Griffith are both crucial to the development of the youngsters as well as the team having additional senior players to help make Johnson’s job a bit easier.

Griffith, arguably one of Guyana’s fittest players, has been playing for the Jamaica Scorpions and last featured in a List ‘A’ match for the Jags back in 2018. He is now back in Guyana colours and will be keen on living up to his reputation as a power-hitter and adding to his career’s 5 half-centuries.
Much like Griffith, Fudadin was also a Scorpion player, spending a few seasons with the Jamaica franchise and was among their leading run-scorers back in the 2019 season. The former West Indies Test batsman racked up 345 runs with two fifties and a century finishing in 10th place overall in terms of leading run-scorers for the 2019/20 season.
With tons of firepower in the batting department, ranging from pinch-hitters, stroke-makers to batsmen who can play the anchor role, Guyana have seemingly assembled one of their best balanced teams in recent times.

The downside, however, sees Jags missing the likes of West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul, who will sit out of the tournament in order to facilitate adequate recovery from injury. Another Windies utility player in Sherfane Rutherford has opted to play T10 and T20 cricket in Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively, but was initially chosen to be a part of the team.
The Jags are scheduled to depart Guyana on January 30 for the bubble in Antigua, where they will continue to engage in the mandatory COVID-19 safety measures. The Jags’ coaching staff features veteran coach Esaun Crandon, Manager/Assistant coach Shivnarine Chanderpaul and physiotherapist Ernesto Campo Gonzalez.

In keeping with COVID-19 protocols, the Guyana Jaguars will undergo a series of tests with the first being set for January 23 prior to their departure and upon arrival in Antigua.
The players will then be required to self-isolate before their second Test which is set for January 27. Following their arrival in Antigua, a 2-day room isolation is required after which they will undergo the third Test on February 2, with the 4th Test scheduled for February 6. Players will be allowed their team practice sessions.
Guyana Jaguars Super50 team: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Trevon Griffith, Christopher Barnwell, Leon Johnson, Shimron Hetmyer, Assad Fudadin, Keon Joseph, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Ramaal Lewis, Nial Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Akshaya Persaud and Tevin Imlach.