Four-Day: Confident Harpy Eagles take aim at Jamaica Scorpions

Pumped up after toppling a strong Barbados Pride in a thriller at the Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday, the Guyana Harpy Eagles are soaring and have now set sights on their next prey, the Jamaica Scorpions.

The two successful Round Three sides will meet from Wednesday at Diego Martin Sports Complex as Round Four action starts in the Cricket West Indies Four-Day Championship in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is a battle of number four (Harpy Eagles on 41.4 points) and number five (Scorpions on 29.6 points), and the real attention is on whether the Eagles can get another big win and make the title race even more interesting heading into the final round.

Eagles are just 5.8 points adrift of leaders Barbados Pride (47.2 points), who face third place Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (43.0 points) at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while Leeward Hurricanes (46.4 points) and Windwards Volcanoes (15.6) battle at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Scorpions, who lost their first two matches, had a thumping Round Three victory over Volcanoes inside of three days, but their batting is weakened with the departure of Nkrumah Bonner and Brandon King for international duties.

With the exception of the Eagles, all other franchises have lost players due to West Indies’ duties in the Netherlands and Pakistan.

The weather pattern in Trinidad indicates that all three matches are likely to be affected by rain. On Tuesday, the majority of the Eagles’ training session was held indoors at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Eagles are hoping are for an uninterrupted game, and are looking for as many bonus points in the hope of a much-needed victory.

The Eagles camp expressed to News Room Sport, that they are confident and while beating Pride in the thrilling manner was a huge boost, they know another challenge awaits, and all attention is fixed on such.

Vishaul Singh is fit to play after being unwell in the previous round, while a final call will be made on Anthony Bramble’s readiness on the morning of the match. Should Bramble miss out, Tevin Imlach is the option being the stumps.

Bramble got struck on his wrist during the previous round, and did not keep in the match after retiring hurt during the Eagles’ first innings.

Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain), Keemo Paul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Vishaul Singh, Akshaya Persaud, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Gudakesh Motie, Nial Smith, Demetri Cameron, Antony Adams, Kevin Sinclair, Ronsford Beaton.

Jamaica Scorpions squad: John Campbell (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Leroy Lugg, Oraine Williams, Aldaine Thomas, Gordon Bryan, Paul Palmer Jr., Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Nicholson Gordon, Derval Green, Patrick Harty, Kirk McKenzie, Alwyn Williams, Brad Barnes.