FOUR-DAY: Harpy Eagles on cusp of defending title after valiant lower-order rally

The Guyana Harpy Eagles have one hand firmly on the 2025 West Indies Four-Day Championship trophy after a dominant Day three against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Queen’s Park Oval.

Their imposing first-innings total, spearheaded at the backend by a brilliant all-round effort from Keemo Paul, has left the Red Force facing a mountain to climb.

Resuming their innings 269-5, the Harpy Eagles batted through a significant portion of the day, eventually posting a formidable 463.

The innings was anchored by a near-century from West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul, who fell just seven runs short of a deserved hundred.

He was well-supported by Raymond Perez’s solid 82, a crucial half-century from Veerasammy Permaul (52*), and contributions from Kevlon Anderson (51), Kevin Sinclair (35), Tevin Imlach (33), and Kemol Savory (32).

Khary Pierre was the standout bowler for the Red Force, claiming four wickets for 119 runs, while Jyd Goolie and Joshua James chipped in with two wickets each.

Having established a commanding 223-run first-innings lead, the Harpy Eagles put the Red Force under immense pressure.

In their second innings, the home side struggled to gain momentum and reached the close of play on 101 for 2 after 35 overs.

Amir Jangoo (50) reached his half-century, while Cephas Cooper remained unbeaten on 26.

However, the Harpy Eagles have already made crucial breakthroughs, with Kevin Sinclair (1-7) and Ronaldo Alimohamed (1-24) picking up a wicket apiece.

The Harpy Eagles entered this final-round encounter with a 6.2-point lead over the Red Force and have already secured vital first-innings points, placing them in pole position to clinch their eighth title in the last ten seasons of the Professional Cricket League.

Unless the Red Force can produce a remarkable batting display and bundle the Eagles, their agonising wait for a Four-Day title since 2006 looks set to be prolonged.

The Guyana Harpy Eagles are poised to lift the 2025 Championship trophy.

FULL SCORECARD: https://matchcentre.windiescricket.com/match/66c1bb30-4a4b-4bdc-8be6-b0202f8aa5ca/scorecard

Below are the summarised scores of the other matches:

At Coolidge Cricket Ground: Windward Islands Volcanoes 106 all out from 25 overs (Noelle Leo 22, Kimani Melius 20; Nathan Edward 2-15, Kelvin Pitman 2-22, McKenny Clarke 2-34) and 181 all out from 46.1 overs (Alick Athanaze 41, Kimani Melius 40; Johanna Layne 6-30) lost to West Indies Academy 253 all out from 66 overs (Teddy Bishop 56, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 45, Justin Jagessar 42; Kenneth Dember 6-45) and 35-0 from 3.3 overs (Ackeem Auguste 33*) by 10 wickets

At Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground: Combined Campuses and Colleges 327 all out from 86.3 overs (Shaqkere Parris 112, Johann Jeremiah 69, Larry Edward 44; Abhijai Mansingh 5-91) & 153-5 from 38.3 overs (Shaqkere Parris 85*, Romario Greaves 19*; Marquino Mindley 2-30, Peat Salmon 2-255) beat Jamaica Scorpions 133 all out from 36.2 overs (Kirk McKenzie 31; Jaden Edmund 5-59, Larry Edward 3-6) and 206-5 from 46 overs ( John Campbell 104, Javelle Glenn 86, Peat Salmon 35, Brad Barnes 30; Larry Edward 5-86, Chemar Holder 3-79) by five wickets