PCL: Joseph axed for Jaguars’ clash with Red Force

By Akeem Greene

Windies ‘A’ speedster Keon Joseph has been omitted from the Guyana Jaguars squad to face the under-performing Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in sixth round action of the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional Four-day championship at the Queen’s Park Oval from Thursday (January 31).

The Berbician, along with opener Trevon Griffith and Windies leggie Devendra Bishoo, make way for the return of trio Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer and Chandrapaul Hemraj form their CWI President’s XI duties against the touring England side.

Joseph, who was the pace spearhead over the previous seasons, has played only two matches this season, the last of which was against Leeward Islands Hurricanes in 2018. Those two matches yielded three wickets.

The 27-year-old fast bowler, who made his debut in 2010, seems to have been leapfrogged in the selection pecking order by fellow county man Clinton Pestano, who has contributed both wickets and valuable runs in the lower-order.

Griffith, who has been unable to convert his starts into a meaningful score, makes way for Hemraj at the top, while Bishoo has a slight niggle and will miss this round.

Jaguars will want to return to winning ways after suffering a two-wicket defeat at home to Hurricanes prior to the break last weekend; it was only their fourth defeat in the five seasons of the PCL.

Chances are good to turn the tide against a struggling Red Force unit who lay in the penultimate spot of the points table, which is headed by the four-time defending champions.

After five rounds, Jaguars are bossing the table with 85.6 points, 25.8 points more than the second place Hurricanes, while Red Force have 33 points in fifth spot.

The twin-island franchise has already made some changes of their own with ex-West Indies speedster Mervyn Dillon drafted in as Head Coach, replacing Kelvin Williams who quit in the wake of the team’s third defeat this season.

When Red Force last hosted the Jaguars, they lost by an innings and 217 runs. Johnson and Vishaul Singh belted centuries after which spin twins Gudakesh Motie and Veerasammy Permaul, along with seamer Keemo Paul rocked the host’s batting.

Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Leon Johnson (captain), Vishaul Singh, Raymon Reifer, Anthony Bramble, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Clinton Pestano, Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell, Gudakesh Motie.

Management: Rayon Griffith (Head Coach), Shivanrine Chanderpaul (Assistant Coach) and Neil Barry (Physiotherapist).