Holders Jaguars face Volcanoes in R4Day opener

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Reigning champions Guyana Jaguars are expected to face a feisty challenge, when they open the 2015-16 West Indies Cricket Board Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament against Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Guyana National Stadium.

 

The WICB announced today the schedule for the Tournament which opens on Friday, November 6, and will again be played under the franchise arrangement that was implemented from last season.

 

It will be a hard act for the Jaguars to follow up, after they became the first side to claim the Headley-Weekes Trophy, symbol of regional supremacy, in the franchise era of the R4Day by topping the table, following victories in eight of their maximum 10 matches.

 

Their only loss came on home soil in the third round of matches, when their long-standing rivals Barbados Pride clinched a nail-biting, two-run victory, dismissing the Jaguars for a record low of 66 in the second innings on the final day at the Guyana National Stadium, where they also drew with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the penultimate round.

 

In the other first round matches during the coming season, Leeward Islands Hurricanes host Red Force at Warner Park in Basseterre, St. Kitts, and the Pride, last year’s second-placed team, welcome Jamaica Scorpions to Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.

 

The Tournament will again be contested under a round-robin format, featuring 10 rounds of matches, comprising five home and five away fixtures apiece for each of the six franchises, with the team accumulating the most points being declared the Champions.

 

The season also includes three breaks – following the third, fifth and eighth rounds.

 

For the coming season, the Addelita Cancryn Junior High School ground has been brought back onto the list of approved venues to stage first-class matches in the R4Day for the first time in six seasons.

 

The ground, located in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the United States Virgin Island of St. Thomas, will stage the seventh round match between Hurricanes and Volcanoes, following a series of inspections of the venue by a joint team from the WICB and West Indies Players’ Association.

 

The PCL also comprises the NAGICO Super50 Tournament which will be played January next year in Trinidad and St. Kitts. Venues for this tournament are being finalised and the full schedule will be published soon.

 

R4DAY MATCH SCHEDULE

(Scheduled start 10 am daily, except where indicated)

 

Round 1 – November 6 to 9

Jaguars vs Volcanoes – National Cricket Stadium, Guyana (9:30 am start)

Hurricanes vs Red Force – Warner Park, St. Kitts

Pride vs Scorpions – Kensington Oval, Barbados

 

Round 2 – November 13 to 16

Scorpions vs Volcanoes – Sabina Park, Jamaica

Pride vs Red Force – Kensington Oval, Barbados

Jaguars vs Hurricanes – National Cricket Stadium, Guyana (9:30 am start)

 

Round 3 – November 20 to 23

Volcanoes vs Hurricanes – Windsor Park, Dominica

Jaguars vs Pride – National Cricket Stadium, Guyana (9:30 am start)

Red Force vs Scorpions – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

 

BREAK

 

Round 4 – December 4 to 7

Volcanoes vs Pride – National Cricket Stadium, Grenada

Scorpions vs Hurricanes – Sabina Park, Jamaica

Red Force vs Jaguars – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

 

Round 5 – December 11 to 14

Scorpions vs Jaguars – Sabina Park, Jamaica

Volcanoes vs Red Force – Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Pride vs Hurricanes – Kensington Oval, Barbados

 

BREAK

 

Round 6 – February 11 to 14

Hurricanes vs Scorpions – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua

Round 6 – February 12 to 15

Pride vs Volcanoes – Kensington Oval, Barbados

Jaguars vs Red Force – National Cricket Stadium, Guyana

 

Round 7 – February 19 to 22

Hurricanes vs Volcanoes – Cancryn Ground, St. Thomas

Pride vs Jaguars – Kensington Oval, Barbados

Scorpions vs Red Force – Sabina Park, Jamaica

 

Round 8 – February 26 to 29

Volcanoes vs Jaguars – Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

Red Force vs Hurricanes – National Cricket Centre, Trinidad

Scorpions vs Pride – Sabina Park, Jamaica

 

BREAK

 

Round 9 – March 11 to 14

Volcanoes vs Scorpions – Arnos Vale Multiplex, St. Vincent

Red Force vs Pride – National Cricket Centre, Trinidad

Hurricanes vs Jaguars – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua

 

Round 10 – March 18 to 21

Red Force vs Volcanoes – National Cricket Centre, Trinidad

Jaguars vs Scorpions – National Cricket Stadium, Guyana

Hurricanes vs Pride – Warner Park, St. Kitts