Guyana Harpy Eagles depart to Trinidad for CWI Regional Four-Day

– Crandon continues to call for big runs from batsmen

By Brandon Corlette

The Guyana Harpy Eagles departed Guyanese shores on Sunday to play in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day championships starting on May 18 in Trinidad and Tobago, and Head Coach Esuan Crandon continued his call for the batsmen to score big.

“Tagenarine Chanderpaul put his hands up and scored a huge century; that is what we were asking our batters to do, to score heavy. Once you have a start, go big. We had some other guys that had half-centuries, but we wanted them to kick on and go big. That is what we expect from them in upcoming games. If they really want to represent the West Indies, they have to score big runs. I am pleased with the little progress made thus far, but I am disappointed with some of them that gave it away easily. It is a work in progress,” Crandon said in a recent press conference.

At this point the call for batsmen to score big is almost a “recurring decimal”. After two rounds, Vishaul Singh is the leading batsman with 143 runs. He has a high score of 93, and averages 35.75. Anthony Bramble has 129 runs, and Chandrapaul Hemraj has 124 runs. Crandon is also calling for batsmen to be more responsible.
“Batting is high on the list, we have to get good starts and convert them into big scores. Guys need to develop their mental capacity to bat longer. I think our batters must take more responsibility and play their roles. They were selected to score runs, so we want them to score runs,” he said.
Veerasammy Permaul is the leading Guyanese bowler with eight wickets in the two rounds, and Crandon is calling for more consistency from his bowlers. “From a bowling perspective, we are going to look more at consistency. Hitting good areas: we want to utilise the new ball well and open early doors to put batters under pressure. We want to back up well in the field, especially in the slip cordons and guys around the bat,” Crandon said.

Fitness has been an issue in the Caribbean, but from a Guyanese perspective, the players have shown improvement. “In terms of numbers, we would have made some strides, and I am expecting to see a fitter Harpy Eagles team on the field. I am expecting to see better decision-making. I strongly believe that once you have fitter players ;they are able to function well and sustain that focus for longer periods,” Crandon noted.
At this point in the championships, the Guyana Harpy Eagles are fourth with 21.4 points, and starting well will be essential.
“In every game you want to start well. Barbados is no different. We found ourselves in a different position. Whereas, we are chasing behind the championship now. We have to take it step by step. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Sometimes when you chase things like that, you look too far and you do not do the small things well. We have to plan well and execute well. We have a template that we use, and we will back that,” Crandon said.
Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain); Keemo Paul (Vice Captain); Chandrapaul Hemraj; Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Tevin Imlach; Vishaul Singh; Akshaya Persaud; Anthony Bramble; Veerasammy Permaul; Gudakesh Motie; Nial Smith; Demetri Cameron; Antony Adams; Kevin Sinclair and Ronsford Beaton. The officials accompanying the team are Manager Albert Clements (Smith); Head Coach Esuan Crandon, Assistant Coach Ryan Hercules, Cricket Analyst Keshava Ramphal and Physiotherapist Angelica Holder.