Headaches for the selectors as Guyana Harpy Eagles squad announcement looms

By Brandon Corlette

The 2022 CG Insurance Regional Super50 is scheduled to commence on October 29, but the Guyana Harpy Eagles will start their campaign against Windward Islands Volcanoes from October 31 at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad.
Based on reliable information, the 14-man squad submission for all territories was set to be submitted to Cricket West Indies (CWI) this week. Barbados Pride had already submitted and announced their team to the public.
During the ongoing Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior inter-county tournament, the selection panel, led by Rabindranauth Seeram, was present at all the venues, which is a good sign, despite the tournament being streamed live.
Some players have thrown their names into the selection hat with strong performances, while some of the notable players have shown their class. Kemol Savory, who scored a century in the first round and had a solid innings against Demerara in the penultimate match, has thrown his name into the selection hat as one of the young and upcoming players with little national experience, who should be in line for selection.
National players Leon Johnson and Anthony Bramble have also showed consistency, while Jonathan Foo, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Veerasammy Permaul, Christopher Barnwell and the other incumbents had good showings at some point in the tournament.
Here is a look at my squad, and based on my selections, no major surprises should be expected when the selectors make the squad official. Keemo Paul was omitted from my squad because of his injury and the expected birth of his first child; Chandrapaul Hemraj, who sustained an injury and missed the recent match against Essequibo, has been going through a rough patch and has been playing a lot of cricket. Given Hemraj is fit and ready to go, he will slot into the squad.

Why the inclusion of Foo and Barnwell?
Foo is no stranger to Guyana cricket. In fact, he was instrumental in Guyana’s win at the Caribbean T20 championships in 2010. However, the 32-year-old has had his fair share of quiet seasons, but of recent, he has redefined himself while playing in the USA and in India.
Foo, who scored 71 in the opening round of the GCB inter-county and had an unbeaten innings of 19 in the second round, scored 334 runs at his last Regional Super50.
Meanwhile, Barnwell has simply been the most consistent batsman for Guyana at the Super50 level. He scored his maiden century in the 2021 season. The 35-year-old has been playing white-ball cricket in the USA, where he has been churning out the runs. While scoring 186 runs in the 2021 Super50, Barnwell scored 351 runs in the 2019 Super50 season, and 282 runs in the 2018 season. He also showed his skill with bat and ball during the ongoing inter-county tournament, where he picked up crucial wickets and scored runs when needed.

Another good
season for Kemol Savory
The 26-year-old Savory, who played six List A matches, scored an unbeaten century in the first round, and followed that up with a patient 66. He has also shown his class with the gloves, and over the years, his fitness has improved. However, if the selectors choose to go in another direction with Tevin Imlach and Bramble, being the more senior glovesmen, that would not be a surprise.
The other players should be selected without question but given Beaton’s fitness, Nial Smith or Clinton Pestano should get the nod. Smith, who had a strong start to his regional career, has been quiet in recent times, and he has not taken the ongoing inter-county tournament by storm with wickets. Pestano has looked fitter this season, and he has had a good start to his regional career. He also claimed a hat-trick, in the 2018 season where he took 15 wickets.
Corlette’s Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad for Regional Super50: Leon Johnson (Captain); Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Shimron Hetmyer; Kemol Savory; Jonathan Foo; Christopher Barnwell; Sherfane Rutherford; Anthony Bramble; Tevin Imlach; Romario Shepherd; Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul; Gudakesh Motie, and Ronsford Beaton.
Reserves: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Clinton Pestano, and Nial Smith