The 2024 West Indies Four-Day Championship starts February 7, and for the second time since the inception of the Professional Cricket League in 2014, the Guyana Harpy Eagles play all their matches away from home.
Five out of their seven matches will be held in St. Kitts, Antigua and Jamaica- territories historically known for having pitches conducive to fast bowling. Trinidad and Tobago will host the other two Harpy Eagles matches.
The unavailability of the National Stadium, Providence, is due to ongoing preparations for the Men’s T20 World Cup in June.
Head Coach Ryan Hercules is leading the Eagles as they aim to retain their title. If they do, it will be their seventh in nine seasons.
He is adamant that a positive start depends on how well they adapt to the different conditions.
“It is important to assess conditions and play the cricket on the day as it is,” Hercules said in a recent interview with News Room Sport.
Champions again! Guyana Harpy Eagles won their sixth Four-Day title in the PCL era in 2023
The preparation could have been better. Two of the three practice matches were severely affected by rain, and the third allowed for some match preparation before departure for St. Kitts on Sunday.
“In terms of preparation, the weather has not been on our side, same as last year, but we try to get more on the mental side. We make use of developing skills and trusting the process.”
The Head coach went on to explain, “The start is always important; even though there are two more games included, everyone will look to be upfront, and if you look at the pattern from last year, we must get a good start coming into the back end because it can be hard to catch up.”
The additional two matches are due to the inclusion of the Combined Campuses and Colleges and the West Indies Academy.
For at least the first round, the Eagles will miss the likes of wicketkeeper/batsman Tevin Imlach and left-arm Gudakesh Motie due to international commitments, while injured pacers Shamar Joseph and Nial Smith could be out of the first two rounds.
Imlach was part of the West Indies One-Day International squad for the three-match tour to Australia that ended on Tuesday, but Motie is also part of the Twenty20 International squad that plays three matches from February 9-13.
This means five uncapped players are in the current squad- all-rounders Ronaldo Alimohamed and Richie Looknauth, batsman Raymond Perez, leg-spinner Steven Sankar and fast bowler Neiland Cadogan- of whom three are strong candidates to be presented with their First-Class caps on Wednesday.
The Harpy Eagles have been boosted by the return of opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul and all-rounder Kevin Sinclair from the Test tour to Australia.
There are more stakes this season as Cricket West Indies has significantly increased prize money. The winning team will receive US$250,000, while the second-placed team will receive US$100,000.
Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Kevlon Anderson (captain), Matthew Nandu (vice-captain), Veerasammy Permaul, Antony Adams, Kevin Sinclair, Ronsford Beaton, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymond Perez, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Steven Sankar, Kemol Savory (wicketkeeper), Richie Looknauth and Neiland Cadogan.
Management staff: Ryan Hercules (Head Coach), Garvin Nedd (Assistant Coach), Albert Clements (Manager), Ryerson Bhagoo (Analyst) and Angelica Holder (Physiotherapist).
