West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd was like the commander-in-chief at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, where the final practice match of the Guyana Harpy Eagles was staged on Tuesday evening. He warmed up in style for the Regional Super50 by scoring an unbeaten 61 and claiming four wickets.
Tevin Imlach, Leon Johnson, Akshaya Persaud and Sherfane Rutherford also each scored half-centuries of their own in that encounter.
Batting first, the Guyana Harpy Eagles team posted 336-6 in their allotted 50 overs, of which Imlach top-scored with 80 while batting at number five. The Eagles had earlier lost openers Anthony Bramble (16) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (14) to promising seamer Shamar Joseph, and
Kemol Savory, batting at number three, had scored only nine.
Captain Leon Johnson and Imlach then added 91 runs for the fourth wicket, before Johnson departed with the score on 170-4 after 34.4 overs. The skipper scored a composed 56 from 78 balls in an innings laced with five fours.
The pugnacious Rutherford then came to the crease and produced an explosive 53 runs from 34 balls, with five sixes decorating his brisk innings. Rutherford and Imlach added 85 runs for the fifth wicket, with the left-handed Rutherford dominating. Imlach departed for a 95-ball 80, after batting for 121 minutes and stroking five fours and two sixes; and Rutherford soon followed suit, both of these batsmen falling to off-spinner Junior Sinclair.
The huge lad from Berbice, Romario Shepherd, then came to the crease and dominated the bowling with some might hits. He slammed four sixes and seven fours in his 20-ball 61, while Kevin Sinclair’s unbeaten 13 took Harpy Eagles to 336-6 when their 50 overs expired in the day/night fixture.
In response, the GCB Select XI batting order stumbled to the brilliance of Shepherd and the steadiness of Veerasammy Permaul. Only Akshaya Persaud, who scored an unbeaten 65 from 79 balls after batting for 110 minutes, stood tall, while Quentin Sampson blazed 55 from 27 balls.
The GCB Select XI folded for 160 in 30.4 overs, with Shepherd claiming 4 wickets for the miserly concession of seven runs, while Permaul claimed 3-39 in his 7.4 overs. Sampson and Persaud added 83 runs together, but the National side cruised to a comfortable 176-run win.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles will shortly depart for Trinidad and Tobago to play Windward Islands Volcanoes in the first round of the 2022 CG Insurance Cup. The Eagles Squad reads: Leon Johnson (captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Anthony Bramble, Kemol Savory, Clinton Pestano, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Quentin Sampson, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie and Nial Smith. The management staff includes Albert Clements (Manager), Ryan Hercules (Head Coach), Garvin Nedd (Assistant Coach), Angelica Holder (Physiotherapist), and Kheshava Ramphal (Cricket Analyst).
Reserves are: Akshaya Persaud, Junior Sinclair, Anthony Adams, Matthew Nandu, Ronsford Beaton and Shamar Joseph. (Brandon Corlette)
