By Akeem Greene
The 2024 Regional Four-Day looms, and for the Guyana Harpy Eagles, it will be a chance to soar from a new beginning, given the dearth of experience heading into the season.
Since Cricket West Indies commenced the Professional Cricket League in the 2014-15 season, former captain Leon Johnson, Veerasammy Permaul, Vishaul Singh, Anthony Bramble, Christopher Barnwell, Raymon Reifer, among others, have been staples in the squad.
However, there has been a phased approach for about two seasons now to replace those seasoned campaigners, with only Permaul remaining in the Harpy Eagles set-up.
The new season will likely start February 7, with teams commencing travel from February 4.
For Guyana, six-time champions in eight seasons of the PCL, some critical questions will have to be answered at the selection meeting.
First up, captaincy
With Johnson having retired from national duties at the end of last season in March, a new captain has to be appointed.
Permaul, the most experienced player in the current set-up, was the appointed vice-captain and even got the nod to lead the Super50 team.
However, midway through that tournament, Tevin Imlach, his deputy, took over.
So it begs the question, will it be Permaul or Imlach for the Four-Day season?
There is a chance availability may make it an easy decision for the first round, as in the past, when players participated in Test tours, the medical department sometimes opted for a short rest and recovery period before they were re-engaged in active cricket.
Imlach is one of five Guyanese currently in Australia for the two-Test tour that is scheduled to end January 29. The other four are Gudakesh Motie, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kevin Sinclair and Shamar Joseph.
The tour also comprises three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals from February 1-11, and at least three of those players could potentially be part of the West Indies squads.
The reserves
Due to the inclusion of the Combined Campuses and Colleges and the West Indies Academy, the matches have increased from five to seven this season and should culminate in May.
After Australia, there is no Test tour until the visit to England for three matches in July, then South Africa touring the Caribbean in August for two matches.
It means the core of the Test squad should be available throughout the season, but if those in Australia are unavailable for the first round, who will replace them?
Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer, not contracted by the Guyana Cricket Board, have respective T20 commitments in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, while Romario Shepherd, contracted by Cricket West Indies, is also in South Africa.
Contracted players Mavendra Dindyal and Isai Thorne will be in South Africa for the ICC Under-19 World Cup from January 19 to February 11.
Ashmead Nedd, who also does not have a GCB contract, could likely turn out for the Academy team, meaning Antony Adams would be the front-runner to slot in for Motie, or unless the selectors go a different route and pick off-spinner Junior Sinclair.
There is little wicket-keeping headache as Kemol Savory is more than equipped to fill the role should Imlach be unavailable, and young Rampertab Ramnauth is being ushered in as the partner for Matthew Nandu in the absence of Chanderpaul.
Nevertheless, there would still be at least two to three slots open in the middle-order, with few ‘experienced’ options.
Sources have indicated that Jamaica and St. Kitts are likely to host the first legs, and teams will likely opt for an extra pace option. It always comes in handy in the quest for fast-bowling points, which often tilts the title one way or another.
So then, who replaces Joseph, given that Nial Smith and Ronsford Beaton are the only two available contracted pacers?
Quentin Sampson is also a seam-bowling all-round option.
When Beaton had to miss the final round in 2023 due to suspension for an illegal action, Demeter Cameron was recalled to the squad.
From Tuesday (January 9), there will be warm-up matches at the Georgetown Cricket Club, and given it is not yet known who from the West Indies quintet in Australia is available for selection, those matches will potentially play a heavy hand in who makes the cut, at least for the first round.
The selection panel, which comprises Ramnaresh Sarwan (chairman), Albert Clements, Peter Persaud, and Royan Fredericks, along with head coach Ryan Hercules, will have some headaches finding ample replacements.
Teams for practice matches:
Anthony Adams XI (Team A)– Anthony Adams (Captain), Sachin Singh, Rampertab Ramnauth, Kevlon Anderson, Akshaya Persaud, Zachary Jodah, Zeynul Ramsammy, Joshua Persaud, Aryan Persaud, Junior Sinclair, Quentin Sampson, Rivaldo Phillips, Sylus Tyndall, Malcolm Hubbard, Adrian Hetmyer, Bruce Vincent and Clinton Pestano.
Matthew Nandu XI (Team B)– Matthew Nandu (Captain), Raymon Perez, Shamar Yearwood, Kemol Savory, Richie Looknauth, Brandon Jaikaran, Jonathan Rampersaud, Johnathan Van Lange, Gulcharran Chulai, Veerasammy Permaul, Nial Smith, Thaddeus Lovell, Ronsford Beaton, Ashmead Nedd, Ronald Alimohamed, Ushadeva Balgobin and Steven Sankar.
Guyana Harpy Eagles 2023 Four-Day stats: https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/tournament/averages-batting-bowling-by-team/west-indies-championship-2022-23-15227?team=3793
