Guyana Times article.
Georgetown, Guyana - Guyana Jaguars’ skipper Vishaul Singh has blamed complacency as the reason for his side’s shocking two-run loss to Barbados Pride in the third round of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League on Monday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
“We played three very good days of cricket up until that hour…but I’d say our batting was just a little bit complacent and we got hit and by the time we decided the game was on it was too late,” Singh told this publication on Tuesday.
Chasing a meager 69 with more than two and half sessions available on the final day, Guyana Jaguars slipped to 10-4 then 57-7 before being rolled over for 66. The experienced all-rounder Dwayne Smith used his nagging medium-pacers to good effect, slicing through the hosts batting to finish career-best figures of 5-17.
Prior to that, Guyana Jaguars had dominated the match, scoring 261 and then dismissing the Bajans for 101 to enforce the follow-on. Barbados Pride made 228 in their second innings.
The defeat for the Jaguars followed comprehensive victories over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes and the Windward Islands Volcanoes, and despite the swift turnaround in fortunes, Singh still believes his side is in a strong position as leaders of the points table.
“The camp is still in good spirit you know. It’s one of those things that can happen to anyone on a given day, but we are still on top of the table and we have an entire season ahead of us,” the left-hander, who was leading Guyana for first time, reckoned.
Looking ahead to the fourth round encounter this weekend against hosts Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, Singh refused to be despondent, but is rather optimistic of his side rebounding from the loss.
“Our chances are good. We are playing very good cricket as a team and we are backing ourselves against any opposition at any venue,” Singh concluded.
The Guyana Jaguars lead the points table after three rounds with 39, five more than Jamaica. Barbados Pride are on 27, followed by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (23), Windward Islands Volcanoes (22) and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes (07).
First Published In The Guyana Times.