Guyana Harpy Eagles Lead Selector explains team selection

– Imlach to open batting in upcoming rounds

By Brandon Corlette

The Guyana Harpy Eagles on Friday last announced the squad for the remaining rounds of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day championships. The 15-man squad will play defending champions Barbados Pride from May 18 at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times Sport, Guyana Harpy Eagles Lead Selector Ravindranauth Seeram provided clarity on the team selected.
Speaking on the inclusion of Ronsford Beaton and Demetri Cameron who got a maiden call-up, Seeram said: “They bowled well at the trials. According to the release from the team, when they returned (Keon) Joseph was not really a team man in the tournament in Trinidad, although he was left out of the 13, his behaviour towards the team was not great. That is one part of not having him selected.
“Beaton bowled well. Against the (ACS) team from the United States of America, he was probably the best bowler we had on show. Then came into the trial game, he was good again. He bowled with pace. Cameron, same thing, he bowled well in all the trial games he played. I was not at all the trial games, but according to other Coaches (selectors), he bowled well, so that is why we selected him,” Seeram said.
He noted that Clinton Pestano, who played in the first two rounds, was left out due to injury. “What happened is that when he went with the national team, he went with an injury, which the Coach and Manager did not know of, but during the two games he was seen struggling bowling. When he came home back, he did not do work on that part. The injury is still there, but he does not want to say, so that is why he was left out.”

From the showing in the opening rounds, the Guyana Harpy Eagles’ batting has been poor. 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. When asked if the Harpy Eagles saw the need to select more batsmen in the current squad, Seeram said: “We thought about Matthew Nandu, but there are two batsmen in the team that were not given a break in Tevin Imlach and Akshaya Persaud. We thought it was now time for them to come into the team.”
He added that the batting form of 25-year-old Tagenarine Chanderpaul has been a concern. The young Tiger recorded scores of 30, 28, 05 and 04 in the opening rounds. “The main concern was Tagenarine Chanderpaul was not getting runs, but we select him based on his experience. But what will happen is that Tevin Imlach will open the batting with Chandrapaul Hemraj, and if he does fail, then Tage (Chanderpaul) can come in back. Although Tage is there, Imlach may be considered the opener,” Seeram disclosed.
Despite the players showing improvements at the yo-yo test, Seeram was still not fully satisfied with all the players’ fitness. “No, I am not satisfied at all. I think Keon Joseph did not run in the required time, Nial Smith was a bit of a concern, but overall the boys stood out. In the yo-yo test, some did not stand out. Vishaul Singh’s running was poor, but the Coaches need to run overall fitness often.”
Five-time winning Captain Leon Johnson has had his struggles with the bat. In his last six innings in First-Class cricket, the classy left-hander had scores of 09, 03, 28, 21, 02, and 00. The selectors and most Guyanese cricket fans are hoping that the skipper can bounce back.
According to Seeram, “The Cricket Board just had a debrief with Johnson when they came back after he played the two games. But we all know he is struggling, but because of the five years he had won as captain, that is the reason why we are giving him a chance to regain that winning formula. Hopefully, he can do it.”
The Guyana Harpy Eagles will play Barbados Pride from May 18 to May 21, 2022, at the Queen’s Park Oval; Jamaica Scorpions, May 25-28, 2022, at Diego Martin and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, June 1-4, 2022, at Queen’s Park Oval. The Harpy Eagles are currently in fourth place in the point standings on 21.4 points.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad for the remaining rounds is: 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.