Gudakesh Motie said he wants to continue to bamzoole batsmen in the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament and finish the season as the top bowler.
The Guyana Jaguars left-spinner was the top bowler during the first half of the season which was completed prior to the break for Christmas and New Year’s holidays, plus the NAGICO Super50 Tournament.
He captured 34 wickets in five matches at a miserly average of 11.73 runs apiece, helping to catapult the reigning champions to the top of the table on 85 points, in the absence for a period of leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo on West Indies duty and fellow leftie Veerasammy Permaul to injury.
“I was happy to be the leading bowler at the halfway stage of the Tournament, especially in my first full season of the R4Day, and I want to continue bowling well for the rest of the season,” said the 20-year-old former West Indies Under-19 bowler.
“The batsmen found it challenging to understand my variations during the first half of the season and I have been working hard in the nets to get even better, so that I can finish as the top wicket-taker.”
The second half of the season resumed on Thursday – but the Jaguars get back into the action a day later on home soil at the Guyana National Stadium, where they face newly-minted NAGICO Super50 champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force.
As Leon Johnson’s side swept all comers in the first half of the season, the Red Force were part of the carnage the Jaguars left behind for just their second win over them in the last decade.
But the Jags failed to topple the side from the two-island republic in this corresponding fixture last season – but Motie said he’ll be looking to put this right – as the Red Force aim to slow down the leaders.
“Red Force are very competitive and we are looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “The guys have been working hard in the nets, they look very confident, we have been gelling well together and we feel we can pull it off.”
Motie rated his best performance so far this season, as his 11-wicket match haul (6-20 and 5-85) against Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the second round last November at the Guyana National Stadium.
“We have been training very hard for the start of the second half of the season and I was doing a lot of spot bowling during the break following the NAGICO Super50, as we had a number practice sessions and a three-day practice match to get us back into the groove,” he said.
“I am looking to better my performance from the first half of the season, so that I would get the same number of wickets or more in the second half, and the Jaguars can go on to win their second straight title.”