Star batsman Kevlon Anderson will make his debut as captain of the Guyana Harpy Eagles 4-Day team ahead of the upcoming CWI Regional 4-Day Championships.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) named a strong unit led by the former West Indies Under-19 batsman, which consists of a few familiar faces along with a new crop of players.
Spinner Steven Sankar will be among the new faces in the team, following a breakthrough year with the ball at domestic level. Opener Raymon Perez, following his immaculate batting form that rolled over from 2023, will get his chance to play at the senior level.
In-form fast-bowling all-rounder Ronaldo Alimohamed is the third fresh face in the Harpy Eagles side, having played 50-over cricket for Guyana at the senior level.
Alimohamed, Perez, and Sankar will likely make their debuts while middle-order batsman Akshaya Persaud makes a return to the Harpy Eagles unit, following his return to form across all formats.
Young batting sensation Matthew Nandu will be Anderson’s deputy as they lead a well-balanced side featuring a few veterans among the new faces.
First-class cricket’s leading spinner, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Adams, and West Indies latest Test player, Kevin Sinclair, will run the spinner’s show for the Eagles.
Fast-bowlers Ronsford Beaton, Nial Smith, and Alimohamed will make up the front-line seam unit, which adds to their star-studded batch of spin bowlers.
Test openers Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Nandu, Sinclair, Perez, Anderson, and Persaud will look to carry the Eagles batting unit.
Kemol Savoury will be the wicketkeeper for the first two rounds until Tevin Imlach returns from West Indies duties. Savoury is also expected to play a key role in the batting department.
The Harpy Eagles head coach is Ryan Hercules, and assistant coach Garvin Nedd will have Ryerson Bhagoo as their analyst and Albert Clements as their manager.
Meanwhile, this year’s 4-Day Championship will have a significant increase in prize money, as the winning team will pocket the US$250,000 first-place prize, while the runner-up will receive US$100,000.
The GHE commences their title defence when the West Indies Championship kicks off in St. Kitts on February 7. GHE is set to face Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Conaree Cricket Centre in round 1.
Guyana Harpy Eagles 4-Day Team: Kevlon Anderson (Cpt.), Matthew Nandu (VC), Nial Smith, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Adams, Kevin Sinclair, Ronsford Beaton, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Akshaya Persaud, Raymon Perez, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Steven Sankar, and Kemol Savoury.
Under the new Cricket West Indies ‘Player Movement Policy’, each territory is required to name six priority players. The GHE’s six priority players will be announced shortly.
