A high-spirited Guyana Harpy Eagles will take on the Windward Islands Volcanoes from today, Wednesday, February 9, at the Queen’s Park Oval from 10:00h Eastern Caribbean time.
Speaking to the media in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Harpy Eagles Captain Leon Johnson said the players are eager to get going in this Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day Championships.
Sharing his sentiments on the conditions at the Queen’s Park Oval, Johnson said they were similar to what the team were accustomed to. “A bit of grass on the pitch, not too much, a bit of dry areas and it will have something for the bowlers in the morning and then become good for batting and the ball will spin,” Johnson said.
Captain Leon Johnson had a Player-of-the-Match 189* the last time he played Volcanoes
The star-studded Harpy Eagles team are stacked with three left-arm spinners in Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, and Anthony Adams. Johnson said that the team were missing variety, but he believed that the spinners in the squad would do the job.
“It is missing that variety. Over the last couple of years, we have done well with our two left-arm spinners Permaul and Motie. The guys that have performed in the trials and in Four-Day cricket recently are the left-arm spinners. It is only fair they have a go; we have three right-arm fast bowlers as well, we don’t look at these things. If they are the three best spinners available to us, then so be it,” Johnson said.
The five-time Regional Four-Day championship winning captain, who scored an unbeaten 189 against the Volcanoes the last time these teams met, did not attempt to disclose the final XI for the first match, but he noted the team were selected after the final training session on Tuesday.
During the three trial matches before the team departed Guyana, Shimron Hetmyer and Tevin Imlach scored centuries. The Guyana Harpy Eagles skipper said Anthony Bramble was the experienced wicket-keeper who was expected to take the gloves, but if Imlach played, he would bat in the top three.
Regional veteran Devon Smith will turn out for Volcanoes today
The first two rounds of the red-ball season will be of great importance, since the West Indies Test team will play three Test matches in the Caribbean against England. Johnson said the batsmen especially would fancy their chances for selection into that West Indies Test team, after strong performances in the first two rounds of this season.
“It always is, selection into the international side has to be the goal of every player. It would not happen overnight or after two games for some, but good performances always count. Looking at the Test side, they have struggled a bit, and I think there are places there for batters who score big runs,” Johnson explained.
Guyana Harpy Eagles, who surrendered the title after five consecutive years in the 2020 season to Barbados Pride, will be eager to get a grip on that Headley/Weekes trophy again. With Hetmyer and Vice Captain Keemo Paul in the mix, the squad will have that extra boost.
Guyana Harpy Eagles team will be boosted by Keemo Paul and Shimron Hetmyer
“It is great to have those guys around. They bring international experience, they have done well when they played for Guyana, and they are both leaders in their own right. Keemo is the Vice Captain now, so a bit more responsibility on his shoulder,” Johnson noted.
This Four-Day season will be played for five rounds owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling in the Caribbean. Johnson said this was a concern for him, because five games were not enough to select the best international players.
In their last encounter, Guyana and Windward Islands Volcanoes played to a draw. Guyana made 426 all out, with Johnson scoring 189* and Christopher Barnwell scoring 107. On the other side, Devon Smith, who is again in the team to play Guyana today, scored an unbeaten 147 and skipper Kaveem Hodge also scored a century.
Guyana Harpy Eagles squad reads: Leon Johnson (Captain); Keemo Paul; 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 Anthony Adams.
Windward Islands Volcanoes squad reads: Kaveem Hodge (Captain); Keron Cottoy; Denis Smith; Devon Smith; Kimani Melius; Alick Athanaze; Ryan John; Larry Edward; Kenneth Dember; Shermon Lewis; Preston McSween; Teddy Bishop; Darel Cyrus; Josh Thomas and Ackeem Auguste.
