Harpy Eagles eye improvement ahead of title defence

Defending Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day champions, the Guyana Harpy Eagles were put through their paces recently as they wrapped up a series of intense trial matches at the Everest Cricket Club Ground, with skipper Tevin Imlach reflecting on a challenging but insightful exercise ahead of the 2026 regional season.
With the 2026 edition of the CWI Regional Four-Day Tournament set to bowl off on April 12 in a shortened format featuring fewer teams, Imlach said the practice games were designed to reacclimatise players to the demands of red-ball cricket.
“The objective for those games was really to give the guys an opportunity to test their skills,” Imlach explained. “Because of the weather in Guyana, preparation can be challenging, and most of the players have been involved in white-ball cricket – T20s and 40-over matches. So it was important to put them back into a challenging red-ball scenario.”
However, the conditions proved sterner than anticipated. According to Imlach, the pitch at Everest offered more assistance to the bowlers than expected, making life difficult for the batsmen.

“Unfortunately, the batters didn’t necessarily live up to expectations, and the pitch was a lot more challenging than we wanted for a trial or practice game,” he admitted. “It didn’t fully give us what we wanted in terms of assessing the batting, but the guys would have taken something from it.”
Despite the struggles with the bat – which affected both senior and junior players – the trials served a broader developmental purpose. The sessions provided an opportunity for emerging talents to stake their claim and demonstrate their growth over the past few seasons.
“There were definitely some good young players on show, some that I’ve never seen before,” Imlach noted. “There’s clear talent and potential there. I won’t single out names, but a few of the young fast bowlers were very impressive, and some of the young batters showed glimpses as well.”
The skipper emphasised that while immediate performances may not have met expectations, the long-term outlook for Guyana’s cricket remains promising.
“It’s about moulding that talent and keeping them around long enough to develop into what’s required at this level,” he said. “There’s definitely a bright future for Guyana cricket.”
As the Harpy Eagles prepare to defend their title in a revamped Regional Four-Day Tournament, the focus will now shift to fine-tuning combinations and sharpening skills in the weeks leading up to the April 12 start.
With a blend of seasoned campaigners and emerging prospects, Guyana will be aiming to adapt quickly to the new-look competition and once again assert their dominance in West Indian first-class cricket.