After missing out on selection for last year’s Cricket West Indies Regional Super50, Amir Jangoo is not only happy to be included in Trinidad and Tobago’s squad for this year’s edition of the tournament, but he is also aiming to make the most of the opportunity.

The wicketkeeper/batsman, who has been enjoying a rich vein of form so far this year, has his sights set on maintaining that positive run to assist Trinidad and Tobago Red Force defend their title in the October 29 to November 23 tournament.

Jangoo tallied 500 runs for the Red Force in five regional four-day matches earlier this year, as he ended as the Twin Island Republic’s leading run scorer and the fourth-highest scorer in the competition. He was only bettered by Mikyle Louis (682 runs), Kraigg Brathwaite (565), and Kevin Sinclair (508).

The 27-year-old Jangoo, who also notched a maiden First-Class hundred during that tournament when he scored 218 against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) Marooners, was named the TT Cricket Board's (TTCB) National Cricketer of the Year earlier this month, a feat that has significantly boosted his confidence.

“Getting the award is just the beginning. It's basically a foundation for bigger things I want to achieve, like making the West Indies team. At this level, it's all about consistency, so I'm looking forward to the Super50 tournament, and I want to dominate that, as well as the upcoming four-day season next year," Jangoo told Newsday in a recent interview.

“I want to really push and go on to better things. I'll definitely say I'm in the best form of my life. It's all about how well you can develop your game and how quickly as well. Being 27, I've learnt a lot, and I'm in a pretty good space in my career right now,” he added.

Jangoo attributed his improvements to advice from compatriot and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Nicholas Pooran.

"Pooran did some one-on-one work with us batsmen, and I think that actually helped me to understand my game a bit more. I actually just kept working on certain things with my technique. It was all about batting for longer periods of time and doing the right things for longer. That's what I really worked on,” Jangoo shared.

With Pooran’s advice still fresh in his mind, the left-hander pointed out that he is locked in and ready to go as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force is set to open their campaign against the Marooners on Tuesday.

“I really want to play the best for the team, whether it's keeping wicket or batting at the top or middle of the order. It's about adapting my game to the team's benefit,” he declared.

Jamaica Scorpions registered their second win of the West Indies Championship campaign, as they downed West Indies Academy by two wickets on Saturday’s final day of their intriguing four-day encounter at Sabina Park.

Chasing 234 runs for victory, after they bowled out the academy team moments before scheduled close of play on Friday, the Scorpions were found wanting at 89-5 at lunch, with West Indies Test batsman Kirk McKenzie (47) and former captain Jermaine Blackwood (27) the only players to offer little resistance at that point.

However, captain Brandon King and Abhijai Mansingh staged a recovery mission to push the Scorpions to 176-6 at tea. Both batsmen were watchful in their respective knocks, as King topscored with 65 from 127 balls, including five boundaries, while Mansingh also had five boundaries in his 132-ball 42.

With less than 50 runs to get after that solid partnership was broken, Derval Green with an unbeaten 20 and Jeavor Royal, unbeaten on 18, completed the victory shortly before close.

The academy team’s pair of left-arm finger spinners Joshua Bishop and Ashmead Nedd ended with 4-79 and 3-95, respectively.

With the win, the Scorpions moved to 50.2 points in third behind Windward Islands Volcanoes (66.4 points) and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (64.2 points).

Barbados Pride (48.2 points), Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (47.2 points) and Guyana Harpy Eagles (46.2 points), come next, while West Indies Academy (30.8 points) and Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners (20.8 points), at the foot of the standings.

Scores: West Indies Academy 324 (Joshua Dorne 83, Jordan Johnson 61, Kadeem Alleyne 52, Joshua James 36, Rashawn Worrell 25, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 24; Ojay Shields 3-38, Derval Green 3-48, Abhijai Mansingh 2-69) and 281 (Carlton Bowen-Tuckett 53, Kadeem Alleyne 52, Joshua James 36, Ashmead Nedd 30, Jordan Johnson 26, Johann Layne 22 not out, Nyeem Young 21; Abhijai Mansingh 4-70, Peat Salmon 3-55)

Jamaica Scorpions 372 (Peat Salmon 81, Brandon King 77, Leroy Lugg 64, Derval Green 35, Carlos Brown 33, Kirk McKenzie 29; Joshua Bishop 33.2-7-96-6, Kadeem Alleyne 2-29) and 236 for eight (Brandon King 65, Kirk McKenzie 47, Abhijai Mansingh 42, Jermaine Blackwood 27, Derval Green 20 not out; Joshua Bishop 4-79, Ashmead Nedd 3-95).

Meanwhile, Leeward Islands Hurricanes were also victorious, as they defeated Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners by three wickets at Frank Worrell Field in Trinidad and Tobago.

Scores: Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners 273 (Amari Goodridge 75, Sadique Henry 73, Romario Greaves 58, Yannick Ottley 24; Daniel Doram 4-37, Jeremiah Louis 3-54, Rahkeem Cornwall 3-86) and 301 (Yannic Ottley 99, Odain McCatty 37, Sadique Henry 32, Zishan Motara 30, Roshon Primus 23; Rahkeem Cornwall 4-62, Jeremiah Louis 3-59).

Leeward Islands Hurricanes 259 (Kieran Powell 114, Jeremiah Louis 31, Justin Greaves 29, Rahkeem Cornwall 22, Jahmar Hamilton 21; Romario Greaves 19.2-1-63-5, Zishan Motara 2-14, Jediah Blades 2-50) and 319 for seven (Keacy Carty 61, Justin Greaves 61, Rahkeem Cornwall 42 not out, Jeremiah Louis 30, Jahmar Hamilton 28; Jediah Blades 3-50, Zishan Motara 3-71).

Windward Islands Volcanoes registered their third win on the trot, as they defeated Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners by eight wickets, while Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Barbados Pride and Guyana Harpy Eagles, also secured wins in their respective Round three West Indies Championship encounters on Saturday.

Set 125 for victory at Chedwin Park, Volcanoes cruised to their target with West Indies batsman Alick Athanaze finishing unbeaten on a 58 off 42 balls. He struck six fours and three sixes in an unbroken 83-run third wicket stand with Trinidadian left-hander Jeremy Solozano, who struck an unbeaten 61-ball 42, which included six fours.

Solozano also shared in a 37-run opening stand with Kimani Melius (20) before off-spinner Romario Greaves struck twice to end with two for 64.

Earlier, left-arm spinning all-rounder Kavem Hodge grabbed two of the last four wickets to end with two for 48 as the Marooners, who resumed on 271 for six, were bowled out for 315.

Romario Greaves, unbeaten on 62 at the start, added just one, while Sion Hackett never added to his overnight 24.

Scores: Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners 204 (Demario Richards 46, Damel Evelyn 43, Jonathan Carter 31, Shamarh Brooks 29; Darel Cyrus 25-2-72-6, Gilon Tyson 3-32) and 315 (Jonathan Carter 94, Romario Greaves 63, Damel Evelyn 56, Zishan Motara 33, Sion Hackett 24; Shamar Springer 2-33, Kavem Hodge 2-48).

Windward Islands Volcanoes 395 (Kavem Hodge 158 not out, Sunil Ambris 120, Alick Athanaze 26; Romario Greaves 5-142, Jediah Blades 2-35, Edmond Govasta 2-54) and 128 for two (Alick Athanaze 58 not out, Jeremy Solozano 42 not out)

At Sabina Park, Barbados Pride marched to their second win of the competition with a six-wicket victory over hosts Jamaica Scorpions.

Chasing 173, Pride reached their target courtesy of 43 from Roshon Primus, 29 from Kevin Wickham and 25 from Shayne Moseley, off-spinner Peat Salmon claiming three for 69.

Salmon struck twice early to leave Pride in a spot of bother on 52 for three, but Moseley posted 45 for the fourth wicket with Wickham before adding a further 44 for the fifth wicket with Primus, who slammed seven fours in a robust 34-ball knock, as Pride recovered well.

Scorpions were earlier dismissed for 292 after resuming on 220 for eight. Pacer Shaquille Cumberbatch finished with five for 46, as Scorpions Derval Green resisted with an unbeaten 78-ball 48, which include seven fours and a six. Green was the aggressor in a 40-run ninth-wicket stand with Gordon Bryan (26) and 37 for the last wicket with Ojay Shields (4).

Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 269 (Romaine Morrison 97 not out, Carlos Brown 40, Kirk McKenzie 40, Peat Salmon 24; Jomel Warrican 27.4-6-62-5, Jair McAllister 3-69) and 292 (Abhijai Mansingh 54, Derval Green 48 not out, Leroy Lugg 43, Kirk McKenzie 39, Carlos Brown 35; Shaquille Cumberbatch 5-46, Kevin Wickham 2-26)

Barbados Pride 389 (Kraigg Brathwaite 142, Kevin Wickham 63, Shane Dowrich 44, Jonathan Drakes 31, Roshon Primus 22; Derval Green 4-78, Peat Salmon 3-94) and 176 for six (Roshon Primus 43, Kevin Wickham 29, Shayne Moseley 25; Peat Salmon 3-69)

Reigning champions Guyana Harpy Eagles completed an emphatic, record win at Coolidge Cricket Ground.

Harpy Eagles wasted little time in picking up the last four CWI Academy wickets cheaply, to storm to a 221-run win – the fifth largest margin of victory by runs for Harpy Eagles in the modern era of the championship.

For Harpy Eagles, it was also their first win of the campaign following a draw in their first game against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and a heavy 273-run defeat to Leeward Islands Hurricanes in their second game.

Resuming the morning on 161 for seven in pursuit of 429 for victory, CWI Academy were dismissed for 207 all out, with veteran left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (2-48) claiming two of the three wickets to fall.

Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, unbeaten on 34 overnight, top-scored with 43 while Ashmead Nedd, on two at the start, struck a breezy 30 off 28 balls. Together, they stretched their eighth wicket stand to 32 before the final three wickets went down for 16 runs.

Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 175 (Ronaldo Alimohamed 30, Matthew Nandu 28, Tevin Imlach 24, Kevin Sinclair 24; Joshua James 4-43, Johann Layne 2-27, Joshua Bishop 2-31) and 415 for seven decl. (Kevin Sinclair 165 not out, Kemol Savory 58, Kevlon Anderson 49, Ronaldo Alimohamed 31, Veerasammy Permaul 29 not out, Tevin Imlach 29, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 22; Ashmead Nedd 5-97).

Cricket West Indies Academy 162 (Rashawn Worrell 58, Joshua Bishop 51; Kevin Sinclair 4-45, Veerasammy Permaul 3-15, Gudakesh Motie 3-31) and 207 (Jordan Johnson 54, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 34, Joshua James 26; Isai Thorne 4-49, Kevin Sinclair 2-30)

At Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts, Hurricanes too helped themselves to their second win of the campaign when they beat Red Force by four wickets.

Set 162 for victory after bowling Red Force out in their second innings for 342, Hurricanes got a top score of 53 from West Indies white-ball stroke-maker Keacy Carty while 17-year-old Jewel Andrew missed out on his second fifty of the game with 48.

With the hosts in trouble at 26 for two, Carty put on 45 for the third wicket with Jahmar Hamilton who made 29 from 38 balls, and a further 70 with Andrew for the fourth wicket, to put Hurricanes in touching distance of victory.

While Carty faced 136 deliveries and struck half-dozen fours, the Under-19 World Cup star Andrew belted three fours and two sixes in an entertaining 53-ball knock.

Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre claimed four for 69.

Resuming earlier from 285 for six, Red Force were undermined by left-arm spinner Daniel Doram (3-80) who snatched three of the last four wickets to tumble.

Scores: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 137 (Jyd Goolie 30; Colin Archibald 3-28, Jeremiah Louis 3-38) and 342 (Jyd Goolie 64, Jason Mohammed 49, Tion Webster 38, Cephas Cooper 36, Terrance Hinds 34, Joshua Da Silva 34, Vikash Mohan 25, Bryan Charles 24; Rahkeem Cornwall 3-68, Daniel Doram 3-80, Jeremiah Louis 2-70)

Leeward Islands Hurricanes 318 (Jewel Andrew 87, Kieran Powell 65, Jeremiah Louis 41, Mikyle Louis 34; Anderson Phillip 4-62, Bryan Charles 3-81) and 165 for six (Keacy Carty 53, Jewel Andrew 48, Jahmar Hamilton 29; Khary Pierre 4-69)

Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners are faced with an uphill task, after Kevin Wickham’s 139 piloted Barbados Pride to a massive 344-8 declared on Thursday’s second day of their West Indies Championship encounter at Chedwin Park, in Jamaica.

The 20-year-old Wickham smashed nine sixes and eight fours on his way to a third First Class century in a 135-ball innings. He was well supported by Jonathan Drakes, whose 84 off 99 balls, included 12 boundaries.

Marooners in their reply, ended the day on 10-1, still 334 runs behind Barbados Pride heading into Friday’s third day.

Scores: Barbados Pride 344-8 (72.2 overs); Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners 10-1 (18 overs)

After losing Wednesday’s first day due to a wet outfield caused by a ruptured water main, Barbados Pride wasted little time to establish a solid footing in their innings, as they declared intentions of securing a result in the contest.

Despite losing captain Kraigg Brathwaite (seven) and Shayne Moseley (10) cheaply, Zachary McCaskie (30) gradually steadied things, before Drakes and Wickham took the Marooners bowlers to task with a healthy fourth-wicket stand.

The foundation left by both was so healthy that it mattered little that Roshan Primus (five) and Akeem Jordan (14) failed to contribute meaningfully to the innings. However, wicketkeeper/batsman Shane Dorwich added a 50-ball 41, including five fours and a solitary six, with the declaration coming shortly after his dismissal.

Romario Greaves (2-54), Jediah Blades (2-64), Zishan Motara (2-68), led the Marooners bowling.

Meanwhile, Jordan removed Kirstan Kallicharan (seven) to put the Marooners under early pressure in their turn at bat.

Jason Mohammed has so far posted the first century of the 2024 West Indies Championship, as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force closed day one in a good position at 215-4 in their opening contest against reigning champions Guyana Harpy Eagles at Conaree Cricket Centre in St Kitts.

Mohammed, who came to the middle with Red Force in a spot of bother, after Ronsford Beaton removed Cephas Cooper (eight) and Jyd Goolie (three), ended Wednesday’s first day unbeaten on 101.

The 37-year-old will resume his innings, which so far includes 11 fours, on Thursday with Vikash Mohan, who was also unbeaten on 20.

Beaton and Veerasammy Permaul, shared the four wickets, as the latter accounted for Amir Jangoo (27) and Tion Webster (49). Beaton so far has 2-39, while Permaul has 2-49.

Scores: Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 215-4 (81.2 overs); Guyana Harpy Eagles (Yet to bat)

Elsewhere, Windward Islands Volcanoes are on course to secure first innings honours over Jamaica Scorpions, as they closed day one on 157-2, after restricting their hosts to 159, at Sabina Park.

Johann Jeremiah, on 66, and Sunil Ambris, on 30, will resume batting for the Volcanoes on Thursday’s second day.

After asking the Scorpions to take first strike, Hurricanes seamers Ryan John and Shamar Springer produced clinical bowling efforts to rip through the opponents’ batting line up. John bagged 5-43 in 13 overs, while Springer had 3-53 in 10 overs, including two maidens.

Only Peat Salmon, with a 30-ball 26, including three fours and a six, and Romaine Morris’s 29-ball 35, including four fours and two sixes, had notable scores in the Scorpions’ sub-par effort.

The Volcanoes response started positively, with Kimani Melius (31) and Jeremy Solozano (26), both getting starts, but were unable to push on. Melius, who had six boundaries in his 32-ball knock, was removed by Abhijai Mansingh, while Salmon accounted for Solozano, who had five boundaries in his knock.

However, that was all the success the Scorpions would taste, as Jeremiah and Ambris took the bowlers to task and saw out the day.

Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 159 all out (41 overs); Windward Islands Volcanoes 157-2 (41 overs)

Meanwhile, no play was possible in the contest between Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners and Barbados Pride at Chedwin Park, in Jamaica, due to a wet outfield caused by a ruptured water main.