LEON Johnson, captain of the victorious Guyana Jaguars team who win West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament, believes that while history would show that he was the one at the helm of the team that won their first title in 17 years, it was a complete effort that brought home the trophy to the ‘Land of Many Waters’. Guyana Jaguars completed eight emphatic victories to end with 148 points, 31 points clear of second-placed Barbados.
Narsingh Deonarine, Vishaul Singh, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Christopher Barnwell hit match-winning centuries, while Veerasammy Permaul (67 wickets) and Devendra Bishoo (61 wickets) each broke the record for most wickets in a season, which was held by Ryan Austin with 60.
“It was a total team effort from the guys and we have been good in all departments of the game and obviously the contribution of Permaul and Bishoo throughout the tournament … having snatched 128 wickets between them. Johnson said the Jaguars bowled out every single team in the competition and also three batsmen totalled over 500 runs and four were close to 500. We have been positive throughout,” Johnson told reporters upon the team’s return, at the Ogle International Airport.
The team was received by president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Drubahadur and secretary Anand Sanasie who had called on the team to finish with victory prior to their departure for Dominica.
Lauding the players for fighting through the initial tough periods in the match and completing a thumping victory, Sanasie went on to express his satisfaction about the team’s dominant and consistent performance throughout the tournament.
He also congratulated Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Leon Johnson for being called up in the West Indies 20-man camp for the England Test tour to the West Indies.
He further urged those who were not selected to continue training hard and their time will come as their on-field performances cannot be ignored forever.
Drubahadur congratulated the team for bringing the title back to Guyana after 17 years, noting that they have set the bar extremely high for competitions to come.
The GCB president pointed out that the GCB has excelled this year, starting from the Under-15 right up to the senior teams. He thanked the Executives of the GCB for their commitment and the management of the Guyana Jaguars, being an extension of the Board.
Team management and staff expressed their gratitude to the GCB and Cricket Guy Inc. for the support given and pledged to continue to work hard for future success regionally.
The team will take a one-week break before joining the Academy Jaguars for training.
