Shrugging off his indifferent form for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the recent Caribbean Premier League competition, national player Chandrapaul Hemraj, was among the runs in the first practice match against the GCB ‘Select XI’.
Hemraj, along with hard hitting all-rounder Romario Shepherd and wicket-keeper Kemol Savory, notched up half-centuries as the Guyana Harpy Eagles (GHE) batsmen showed ominous form ahead of the upcoming Regional Super50 tournament.
The Harpy Eagles found themselves inflicting a heavy 140-run defeat over the Select XI in the first practice game played Tuesday.
The Eagles got off to a flying start at the GCC ground, Bourda, and eventually posted a daunting 383-7.
Hemraj led the batting effort with a scorching 81 off 68 balls, smashing five boundaries and six maximums in his entertaining knock.
Shepherd too had an excellent outing down the order, hammering 73 not out off 29 balls as he clobbered six towering maximums along with six fours. Savory also got in on the act, warming up with a brisk 53 off 51 balls, finding the boundary four times with one maximum.
Bowling for the Select XI, only skipper Anthony Adams managed to escape some sort of punishment, returning 3-43 amidst the carnage.
Pacers Shamar Joseph (1-76), Ronaldo Alimohamed (1-80) and spinner Steven Sankar (1-45), all came into some punishment from Shepherd and company.
Chasing 384 for an unlikely victory, the Select XI batters displayed courage but could only end on 243-9, led by a classy 58 (4sx1 6sx1) from opener Rampertab Ramnauth. Mavindra Dindyal hit 40 but it was the aggressive Quentin Sampson (selected for the Harpy Eagles) who smoked a 15-ball 49 with four maximums and five fours to get some much needed practice, as they provided some entertainment for the decent-sized crowd.
Gudakesh Motie spun his way to 5-57 from his 10 overs while a few of his teammates grabbed a wicket each as they kept the Select XI quiet.
The Harpy Eagles will head into action again today, facing the same side at the same venue as they look to be competition ready ahead of the CG Insurance Super50 in Trinidad & Tobago which begins on October 17.
