Valuable Paul, Hetmyer, lift spirit in Guyana Harpy Eagles set-up

At 23 and 25 years old respectively, Keemo Paul and Shimron Hetmyer have collectively played 19 Test matches and 61 First-class matches. Paul featured in three Tests for the West Indies, while Hetmyer played in 16 Tests.

Despite that amount of experience in the red-ball format, the Guyanese duo, who are present for Regional 4-Day duties, bring great value to the Guyana Harpy Eagles set-up.

This is according to Head Coach Esuan Crandon, who expects them to be good role models to the younger players. “You know when you have international players, these guys would have started like the younger folks in the team now, or in the set-up, their job is to be good role models to the players. I think their presence in the group would lift the spirit and everything, and we always ask the senior guys to lead by example,” Crandon added.
In the ongoing Guyana Harpy Eagles Best of Best 4-Day match at Albion, both Paul and Hetmyer are in the team. Paul is the captain of one team, while Leon Johnson leads the other team. Earlier, Crandon noted that the trial match at Albion would aim to get these players in the right frame of mind.
“To get the guys in the good groove and frame of mind to play four-day cricket, batting for long periods, scoring big hundreds, picking up wickets, bowling long spells, being able to concentrate for long periods of time, being able to think and perform under pressure.
That first game would be a good gauge for us, taking from that first game, into the next two games, and we are looking to improve as we go on from game to game, and try to build good momentum for the 4-Day coming up,” Crandon said.
In Paul’s 22 First-class matches, he scored 710 runs with one century and two fifties. The bowling all-rounder averages 22 with the bat and an impressive 18 with the ball for his 88 wickets in only 39 innings. He has a best bowling figure of 6-28 and a best match haul of 10-129.
Meanwhile, Hetmyer scored 2125 First-class runs in 70 innings at an average of 31.71. He recorded one century and 12 fifties in his 39-match career thus far. (Brandon Corlette)