Filling the void that was created by Leon Johnson’s retirement at the end of the 2023 4-Day season; star batsman Kevlon Anderson will make his debut as Captain of the Guyana Harpy Eagles 4-Day team ahead of the upcoming CWI Regional 4-Day Championships.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has named a strong unit led by the former West Indies Under-19 batsman and consisting of a few familiar faces along with a new crop of players.
Spinner Steven Sankar will be among the new faces in the team, following a breakthrough year with the ball at domestic level. Opener Raymon Perez, following his immaculate batting form which rolled over from 2023, will get his chance to play at the senior level.
Raymond Perez impressed during the practice matches and secured a spot in the team
In-form fast-bowling all-rounder Ronaldo Alimohamed is the third fresh face in the Harpy Eagles side, having played 50-Over cricket for Guyana at the senior level.
Alimohamed, Perez and Sankar will likely make their debut, while middle-order batsman Akshaya Persaud makes a return to the Harpy Eagles unit following his return to form across all formats.
Young batting sensation Matthew Nandu will be Anderson’s deputy, as they lead a well-balanced side featuring a few veterans among the new faces.
First-Class cricket’s leading spinner, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Adams and West Indies latest Test player, Kevin Sinclair, will run the spinners show for Eagles.
Fast-bowler Ronsford Beaton, Nial Smith and Alimohamed will make up the frontline seam unit, which adds to their star-studded batch of spin bowlers.
Test opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Nandu, Sinclair, Perez, Anderson, Persaud will look to carry the Eagles batting unit.
Kemol Savory will be the wicket-keeper for the first two rounds, until Tevin Imlach returns from West Indies duties. Savory is also expected to play a key role in the batting department.
Matthew Nandu will operate in the Vice- Captain role
The Harpy Eagles Head Coach is Ryan Hercules and his Assistant is Coach Garvin Nedd; they have Ryerson Bhagoo as their Analyst and Albert Clements as Manager.
Meanwhile, this year’s 4-Day Championship will have a significant increase in prize money, as the winning team will pocket US$250,000, while the runners-up will receive US$100,000.
The GHE commence their title defense when the West Indies Championship bowls off in St Kitts on February 7. GHE is set to face Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Conaree Cricket Centre in round 1.
Guyana Harpy Eagles 4-Day team: Kevlon Anderson (Cpt), Matthew Nandu (VC), Nial Smith, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Adams, Kevin Sinclair, Ronsford Beaton, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Akshaya Persaud, Raymon Perez, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Steven Sankar and Kemol Savory.
Under the new Cricket West Indies ‘Player Movement Policy’ each territory is required to name six priority players. The GHE’s six priority players will be announced shortly.
