Jaguars batting strong, good investment in youth, but why no Steven Jacobs
Jan 26, 2018 , https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...hy-no-steven-jacobs/
By Sean Devers
The CGI selection panel headed by former Guyana pacer Rayon Griffith this week announced the Jaguars’ 14-man Super50 squad which is aiming to win their tenth title and first since 2005.
The Jaguars opens their 2018 campaign next Wednesday against English County side Kent at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
The batting seems very strong and the squad seems to be a good investment for the future. The squad includes five players who have never played a game at this level before in Chanderpaul Hemraj, Sherfane Rutherford, Clinton Pestano, Ricardo Adams and the surprise pick, 21-year-old off-spinner Ramaal Lewis instead of the tried and tested Steven Jacobs.
At 43, Shiv Chanderpaul is the senior statesman in a young side and must open the batting with Hemraj and use his vast experience to bat deep into the innings allowing the others to bat around him while Skipper Leon Johnson will hope to steady the middle order, batting at number four after Test batsman Shimron Hetymer.
Hemraj, Hetymer, Anthony Bramble, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Ricardo Adams, Raymon Reifer, Clinton Pestano and Kemo Paul who has experience at this level for the West Indies U-19 side, are aggressive by nature with Chanderpaul and Johnson being the stabilisers.
The bowling is not as strong as the batting with Reifer leading the pace pack which bowled outstanding in the four-day tournament. Paul, Rutherford, Shepherd and Pestano are the other Paces in the side while Veerasammy Permaul, Lewis and Davindra Bishoo are the spinners.
Spinners take longer to mature in their craft than batsmen and fast bowlers and at 28, Jacobs has been Guyana’s most economical bowlers in 50-over cricket for the last three years. Jacobs made his Regional One-Day debut at Blairmount in 2007 when he captained the West Indies Youth Team against Barbados.
He has played 38 Regional 50-over games taking 38 wickets at an average of 26.36 and more importantly in this format, an economy rate of 3.23. In his last three 50-over seasons for Guyana (2015, 2016 &2017) the tall off-spinner who generate lots of bounce has been Guyana’s most economical bowler; regularly opening the bowling, something young Lewis will find difficult to do.
In 2015, Jacobs bowled 46 overs with an economy rate of 2.69. In 2016 Jacobs sent down 61 overs, captured 10 wickets (2nd to Permaul’s 14) and again had the best economy rate of 3.47, he also finished fifth in batting that year with an average of 30.50
In 2017 Jacobs once again had best economy rate of 3.41 after bowling 77 overs and taking five wickets. When Lewis captained the West Indies U-19s in the 2014 World Cup he looked a bright prospect but has looked far from destructive in the local Franchise League, but it is early days in his career.
Lewis lacks variety and control and delivers too many bad balls to be effective in 50-over cricket at this period in his fledging career. While Jacobs rarely produces prodigious turn, his experience, control, bounce and ability to get the new ball to skid on, makes him hard to score off of.
Ironically, Jacobs opened the batting on his First-Class debut against the Windwards in Grenada as a teenager in 2006 and his five First-Class half-centuries, one in 50-over cricket and several centuries in division one cricket for Malteenoes which shows his batting ability, a department that has most disappointed his fans who know he is capable of being a genuine all-rounder in the mould of Roger Harper.
Jacobs could replace Bishoo when he leaves for the Windies World Cup qualifiers Camp after the sixth round while Chris Barnwell should take Reifer’s place when he departs after three rounds for Windies ‘A’ Team duties.