Head coach of the Guyana Harpy Eagles cricket team Esuan Crandon said he is excited that fast bowlers Demetri Cameron and Ronsford Beaton have been added to the squad for the final three rounds of the West Indies Regional Four-Day championships.
However, Crandon said yesterday that the focus will be on the batsmen in their final practice match from today. The two seamers have progressed differently with ‘Rabada’ Cameron, a 25-year-old pacer from Albion marking his maiden call up at the senior level despite never playing for Guyana at the junior level.
However, former West Indies quick, Beaton, who came through the ranks of local cricket has remedied an illegal bowling action and is back in the forefront.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, Crandon, a former pacer himself, said, “I am really happy to have both of them in this squad and I am excited to see what they can do and will do for us.”
He added, “I think the inclusion of Cameron and Beaton is a good move, both guys would have bowled pretty well in the practice games we’ve had so far prior to the first two rounds and the last one [prior to the upcoming rounds] so we felt that we need to give these guys the opportunity to play because they showed good form in the practice games and practice sessions.”
The duo will be joined by fellow seamers, Keemo Paul and Nial Smith. Clinton Pestano, who played the first two rounds is out as well as Keon Joseph who spearheaded the bowling attack for a number of years.
In the spin bowling department, off-spinner Kevin Sinclair has been recalled to complement the left-arm spin trio of Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie and Anthony Adams.
While many have questioned the decision to carry three left-arm spinners, Crandon declared, “I don’t see the issue with three lefties and an off-spinner, those guys have performed and warranted a spot in the squad.”
He added, “We had three lefties in the first two rounds and we felt we have the opportunity to include the additional variation in the off-spinner so just to give ourselves some sort of option going into the different games.”
“We felt that Sinky [Sinclair] has been bowling pretty well in the practice sessions and games and he has embraced his development, you know, bowling the ball a bit slower and imparting more spin on the ball and he has over the past six to eight months he has been working diligently to have that sort of variation and skillset. I think once he continues to put in the work, he will be a force to reckon with,” he pointed out.
With Sinclair’s inclusion, the Harpy Eagles’ bowling attack now features five players who have represented West Indies in International cricket, Paul, Beaton, Motie, Permaul and Sinclair.
The Harpy Eagles will begin their final practice match from today at the National Stadium, Providence with Crandon keen to see good outings from the batsmen.
“Hopefully we can get a good four days before we depart. I am looking forward to good performances from the batters before we depart,” he told this publication.
In the last practice match, less than a full day’s play was possible with Akshaya Persaud top scoring for the day with 35.
In the regional championships, Vishaul Singh has been the most productive batsman for Harpy Eagles so far with 143 runs from four innings including a best of 93 while Anthony Bramble (129 runs), Chandrapaul Hemraj (124 runs) and Paul (121 runs) are the other batsmen with over 100 runs for the side in the competition.
Their batting line up, however will be without international sensation, Shimron Hetmyer which could pave the way for Persaud’s inclusion.
“Not too much to complain about the preparation. Ideally we want to have some more work done. The rain would have short changed us a little bit in our preparation, that is more from a technical and tactical perspective,” Crandon said.
He explained, “We have also utilized every opportunity in the sessions to reinforce the importance of a good mental toughness so these guys should be able to perform better in the upcoming games. We felt that it is more a concern from the thought process, the thinking behind it and also the discipline to do the good things we know these guys are capable of doing, we are trying in our sessions to see how best we can get behind them and ensure they do the right thing and train the right way, how they suppose to.”
Harpy Eagles are in fourth position on 21.4 points, trailing defending champions, Barbados Pride (42 points), Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (38.6 points) and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (24.6 points) while Windward Islands Volcanoes (10.8 points) and Jamaica Scorpions (8.8 points) are in fifth and sixth respectively.
Harpy Eagles will head to Trinidad where they will complete the final three rounds. Round three will see them facing Pride (May 18-21) before taking on Scorpions (May 25-28) and closing against Red Force (June 1-4).
Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain), Keemo Paul (Vice-Captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Vishaul Singh, Akshaya Persaud, Anthony Bramble, Veerasammy Permaul, Gudakesh Motie, Nial Smith, Demetri Cameron, Antony Adams, Kevin Sinclair and Ronsford Beaton.
Management Staff: Manager Albert Smith, Head Coach Esuan Crandon, Assistant Coach Ryan Hercules, Physiotherapist Angelica Holder and Cricket Analyst Keshava Ramphal.
