Five-time Regional First-Class winning captain, Leon Johnson, will lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles once again this season with a squad he learnt via Facebook.
Johnson made this revelation while appearing as a guest on the Mason and Guest radio programme on Tuesday.
“I saw the team on Facebook!” the long-standing captain of the Harpy Eagles team revealed in response to a question on whether he was informed of the squad selected.
When asked for clarity on his statement from the host, the skipper responded, “…would I make that up?” The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) released the squad to the media six days ago via a press release. However, Johnson contended that there was no correspondence from the Bissoondyal Singh-led board.
With a lot of pressure mounting on the selectors following the exclusion of left arm spinner Antony Adams of Essequibo, Johnson said that he had no input in the selection of the 13-man squad.
The current senior selection panel appointed by the GCB comprises Ravindranauth Seeram (Chairman), Albert Clements, Peter Persaud and Elroy Stephney.
“No, I have not been [part of selection] for the last two tournaments…I am not part of selection,” he stated while adding, “It has not always been that way…I used to have an input, my opinion was valued.”
Johnson added, “I think the captain should be able to make recommendations into the selection of squads…captains should have an input, if not being a selector directly, being able to make a decision saying I want this player or I want that player, at least some input if you have been playing the game for the better part of 15 years.”
The Harpy Eagles will head to Antigua on Sunday for the opening round against Barbados Pride from February 1-4 before going to Grenada to face Windward Islands Volcanoes from February 8-12.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Matthew Nandu, Kemol Savory, Tevin Imlach, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Akshaya Persaud, Ashmead Nedd, and Shamar Joseph. The Manager is Albert Clements, Head Coach Ryan Hercules, Assistant Coach Garvin Nedd, Cricket Analyst Keshava Ramphal and Physiotherapist Angelica Holder
The reserves are Mavindra Dindyal, Kevlon Anderson, Demetri Cameron, Richie Looknauth and Antony Adams
