The Guyana Harpy Eagles have completed training at home, and this weekend, the team will depart to Trinidad and Tobago for the upcoming Regional Four-day tournament, starting on February 9 against Windward Islands Volcanoes. Looking at the 15-man squad that will play for the first two rounds, the strength is within the bowling. This is according to Guyana Harpy Eagles Head Coach, Esuan Crandon.
The bowling group includes newly appointed vice-captain Keemo Paul, pacers Nial Smith, Keon Joseph and Clinton Pestano. From the spin group, the Harpy Eagles are equipped with three quality left-arm spinners. West Indies spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Gudakesh Motie will lead the spin group, while Antony Adams will offer support. Akshaya Persaud and Chandrapaul Hemraj are also slow-left arm spinners.
West Indies spinner Veerasammy Permaul leads the bowling group with 544 First-class wickets
“We have a good balanced squad, we have loads of experience, there is no doubt about that and we felt that that is our best squad to represent us in Trinidad for our first two games. Over the years, the bowlers have been doing a fantastic job, and if you followed the three trial games carefully, they did well there too.”
“So, I have tend to lean more to our bowling group, I think that is our strength, and to win games you need to take 20 wickets. These guys would have done that over the years. Having said so, we have some decent and capable role players in our team, guys that can bat and bowl and some good fielders to back up,” Crandon said.
Head Coach Esuan Crandon
The 23-year-old Paul has an impressive First-class record. He has 88 First-class wickets in only 22 matches with a stellar bowling average of 18.31. He also has three five-wicket hauls with a best bowling figure of 6-28 and a best match-haul of 10-129. The veteran Keon Joseph, who made his debut in 2010, played in 46 First-class matches and has 110 wickets at an average of 27.67. He has a best bowling figure of 7-53.
Speedster Smith has also made a name for himself in the last Regional 4-Day. In his seven matches, he has 20 wickets at 29.30 with two five-wicket hauls, including a best of 6-55. Pestano, who last played in 2019 for the Guyana senior team, played nine First-class matches and has 23 wickets with three four-wicket hauls. His best figures are 4-31.
Persmaul’s First-class record is mind-blowing and Motie is impressive. In 122 First-class matches, Permaul has 544 wickets at 20.61. He has 30 five-wicket hauls with a best bowling figure of 8-18 and best match-haul of 15-77. Motie, in his 29 First-class matches has 100 wickets at 20.54. He has a best bowling figure of 6-20 with four five-wicket hauls. His best match haul is 11-105. Adams, who played one first-class match, has shown consistency at the local level, and he is eagerly awaiting another opportunity.
The Guyana Four-Day team are equipped with quality bowlers
Having looked at the bowling group, a right-arm leg-spinner and right-arm off-spinner is missing. But the pacers are capable of combatting the lefties in the opposition’s batting order. For this season, the Guyana team is without reliable all-rounders, Christopher Barnwell and Raymon Reifer.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad reads: Leon Johnson (Captain), Keemo Paul (Vice Captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Vishaul Singh, Askhaya Persaud, Anthony Bramble, Tevin Imlach, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie Nial Smith, Clinton Pestano, Shimron Hetmyer, Keon Joseph and Antony Adams.
The reserves are: Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Ronsford Beaton, Trevon Griffith and Demitri Cameron.
