Key players shine as Harpy Eagles retain Four-Day crown

KEY PLAYERS gave vital contributions throughout the 2024 Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Four-Day Championships as the Guyana Harpy Eagles secured back-to-back crowns, despite playing all seven of their matches away from home.

A number of ‘top-quality’ venues were unavailable due to the preparation of grounds for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup – noticeably Kensington Oval and 3Ws Oval (Barbados), Providence Stadium (Guyana), Brian Lara Cricket Academy (Trinidad), Arnos Vale Recreation Ground (St Vincent), Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua) and Darren Sammy Stadium (St Lucia).

Despite that, and a slow start to their title defence, the Harpy Eagles improved as the tournament went on and captured the title, ahead of the Windward Islands Volcanoes and Leeward Islands Hurricanes (who were both neck-and-neck atop the eight-team points standings for most of the season).

Here is a look at the good, and the bad, for each of the performing teams in the entire competition (as far as individual displays are concerned)

GUYANA HARPY EAGLES

Good: Kevin Sinclair’s batting growth. Known, before the season, as an off-spinning all-rounder, Sinclair scored the most runs for the Harpy Eagles with 508 (average of 63.50) with a century and two half-centuries, and he had 13 wickets for good measure.

Kemol Savory and Isai Thorne cemented their places in the squad – Savory took over the gloves from captain Tevin Imlach (who missed the first round due to international duty) and claimed 21 dismissals (20 catches and a stumping). In front of the stumps, he totalled 289 runs at 36.12. Fast bowler Thorne missed the first round due to West Indies Under-19 duty and captured 19 wickets at 22.68.

The evergreen Veerasammy Permaul was the leading wicket-taker for the Harpy Eagles with 29 scalps (with his left-arm spin) at 18.86, and he scored 265 runs at 37.85.

Imlach made the number three spot his own after amassing 485 runs at 53.88 with two centuries and three half-centuries, while vice-captain Kevlon Anderson (332 at 33.20) and opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul (323 at 29.36) also crossed the 300-run barrier.

Pacer Nial Smith (20 wickets at 16.70) and Test team left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (19 wickets at 18.26) were also key to the Harpy Eagles’ success.

Bad: Ronsford Beaton’s chronic problem with his bowling action. Once again, Beaton’s action was called into question, after the Harpy Eagles’ first match against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. He was suspended from bowling in all West Indies international and regional matches after that fixture and, at age 31, it seems like Beaton’s career may come to an unfortunate end.

Matthew Nandu struggled to come to grips with the rigours of First-Class cricket. The left-handed opener could only muster 122 runs from five games at an average of 15.25.

WINDWARD ISLANDS VOLCANOES

Good: The consistent contributions from pace-bowling all-rounders Shamar Springer and Ryan John. Both played all seven matches for the Volcanoes and chipped in, with bat and all, in almost every game.

Springer tallied 367 runs at 40.77 with two half-centuries, and captured 28 wickets at 23.60. John made 203 runs at 20.30 with one half-century, and snapped up 25 victims at 22.96.

Sunil Ambris was the leading run-getter with 441, at 40.09, with a century and two half-centuries. There were also steady performances from West Indies’ Kavem Hodge (334 at 37.11), ex-WI opener Jeremy Solozano (330 at 30.00) and captain Alick Athanaze (304 at 33.77).

Leg-spinner Darel Cyrus had a good tournament, with 22 wickets at 26.95, while pacer Gillon Tyson took 16 at 16.18.

Bad: The lack of form, especially from the batsmen, after the third round. One player who would be singled out is ex-Windies Under-19 captain Kimani Melius, who began the season as captain (in the absence of Athanaze) but only compiled 142 runs, in four games, at an average of 17.75.

Former West Indies pace bowler Shermon Lewis was not a factor for the Volcanoes, as he took two wickets in as many matches.

LEEWARD ISLANDS HURRICANES

Good: Opening batsman Mikyle Louis – a tournament-leading 682 runs at 48.71 with three centuries and two half-centuries, in his debut First-Class season.

Another First-Class debutant, Jewel Andrew, did not have wicket-keeping duties like he did at the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year, but he impressed with a tally of 356 runs at 32.36 with three half-centuries.

Vice-captain Keacy Carty improved as time went by, as he compiled 496 at 41.33, while the experienced pair of wicket-keeper/batsman Jahmar Hamilton (352 at 27.07) and opener Kieran Powell (324 at 32.40) also had decent displays.

West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves had a mixed season – he posted 280 runs at 40.0 with three half-centuries but only claimed two wickets with his medium pace.

Louis’ elder brother Jeremiah had a good return of 30 scalps at 19.90, while the spin pair of captain Rahkeem Cornwall (32 at 21.56 with his off-breaks) and the lanky Daniel Doram (29 at 20.27 with his left-armers) also had fruitful seasons.

Bad: West Indies white-ball bowlers Hayden Walsh jnr and Oshane Thomas.

Leg-spinner Walsh jnr may complain that he was not handled properly by Cornwall, but six wickets in four matches is not good enough.

Thomas, a burly fast bowler, looked short of work and stamina, as he was only able to gather three wickets in two matches.

BARBADOS PRIDE

Good: West Indies and Pride captain Kraigg Brathwaite was the team’s leading run-getter with 565 at 47.08 with two centuries and a half-century. Kevin Wickham showed good maturity as he posted 449 at 49.88, while fellow middle-order batsman Jonathan Drakes was consistent throughout, with 404 at 36.72. Wickham and Drakes each scored a century and two half-centuries.

Brathwaite’s opening partner Zachary McCaskie scored 353 at 29.41 and, in his only innings, Roston Chase smashed 127 against the Hurricanes, and returned match-figures of 10/114 with his off-breaks.

Experienced left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was head and shoulders over the rest of the bowlers, with 35 wickets at 17.51, including three five-wicket hauls.

Debutant fast-medium bowler Shaquille Cumberbatch had 15 scalps, while off-spinner Chaim Holder had 13, all-rounder Jason Holder 11 and fast bowler Jair McAllister 10.

Bad: Raymon Reifer, Akeem Jordan and Shayne Moseley.

Reifer’s career has never been the same after he was installed as the number-three batsman on the West Indies Test team in 2022, and that lunacy was continued by the Pride selectors this season. In four games, he only scored 159 runs at 22.71 and, with his left-arm medium pace, he took only five wickets.

Jordan was part of the West Indies Test team in Australia earlier this year but was dropped for a couple matches by the Pride selectors. In all fairness, eight wickets at 39.0, in four games, was not good enough.

Moseley played a few Tests for the West Indies in 2021, including the historic Test series win in Bangladesh. But he may have played his last matches for the Pride, at this level; his returns with the bat, in three matches, were 78 runs at 15.60.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO RED FORCE

Good: In what ‘may’ be his last First-Class season, former Red Force captain Jason Mohammed was a model of consistency with 443 runs, at 44.3, which included two centuries and a half-century. However, Amir Jangoo was the leading run-scorer for the Red Force with 500 runs.

Jangoo played the first two games for the Red Force as the specialist keeper, due to the unavailability of captain Joshua Da Silva. After missing the third and fourth round when Da Silva returned, Jangoo was recalled to the starting XI when Tion Webster sustained a season-ending injury. The left-hander took that opportunity with both hands, hardly putting a foot wrong and even scoring the tournament’s only double-century – 218 versus the hapless Combined Campuses and Colleges.

Da Silva was also among the runs with 322 (average 46.0) while Jyd Goolie showed maturity and determination as he compiled 341 runs (average 42.62) – each scoring a century and two fifties.

Fast bowler Anderson Phillip, who had an injury-plagued 2023, was the team’s most consistent performer, with the ball, as he grabbed 29 wickets at 18.82. Vice-captain and off-spinner Bryan Charles was the leading wicket-taker for the Red Force with 31 (average 17.0) while experienced left-armer Khary Pierre grabbed 26 (average 21.03).

Bad: Veteran fast bowler Shannon Gabriel played one match, against CCC, suffered a knee injury and that was the end of his season, with only one wicket on his name. Pacer Terrance Hinds was picked for his bowling (four wickets in six matches) but his lower-order batting was more effective, as he tallied 200 runs at 40.0.

The openers Vikash Mohan and Cephas Cooper, as well as Kjorn Ottley (who missed the earlier rounds due to international duty) were hardly impressive. Mohan scored 180 at 18.0, Cooper 92 at 15.33 and Ottley 199 at 28.42.

WEST INDIES ACADEMY

Good: The left-arm spin twins of Joshua Bishop and Ashmead Nedd. Playing in all seven matches, Bishop had a tournament-leading 42 wickets at 20.07 and Nedd 33 at 23.63. Bishop could have done slightly better with the bat, scoring 252 at 22.90, but both must be considered, at least, for the West Indies A team’s home series against South Africa in July and/or August.

Wicket-keeper/batsman Carlon Bowen-Tuckett was the team’s top run-getter with 378 at 42.0 while Joshua James impressed with his pace (10) and lower-order strokeplay (259 at 23.54). Another person to look out for is fast-medium bowler Johann Layne, who took 17 at 30.41.

Bad: Captain Nyeem Young – in five matches, he only scored 77 runs and took five wickets!!!

JAMAICA SCORPIONS

Good: If, after seven matches (ALL PLAYED AT HOME), 38-year-old Chadwick Walton had the highest score for the Scorpions with 163, that says a lot. Walton played the first three games for the Scorpions before leaving for franchise duty, and he ended with the highest average of 48.4 (after tallying 242 runs).

The only batsmen to cross 300 runs were West Indies’ Kirk McKenzie (323 at 24.84 with ONE half-century), wicket-keeper Romaine Morris (319 at 29.0 – to go along with his 23 dismissals) and opener Carlos Brown (315 at 24.23).

The leading bowlers for the Scorpions were spinners Pete Salmon (30 with his off-breaks at 26.23) and Abhijai Mansingh (17 with his leg-breaks at 35.41). For good measure, Salmon scored 291 at 22.38 and Mansingh 268 at 20.61.

Bad: Jermaine Blackwood (88 runs in five matches, at an average of 9.77) – TALK DONE!!!

COMBINED CAMPUSES AND COLLEGES

Good: Top-order batsman Demario Richards topped the batting aggregates for CCC with 378 at 31.50. But it speaks volumes when the other two batsmen to cross 300 were the original captain Jonathan Carter (320 at 64.0 with the team’s lone century – an unbeaten 135) and his replacement Shamarh Brooks (352 at 25.14).

The only bowlers to gain at least 10 wickets were left-arm pacer Jediah Blades (19 at 34.89), off-spinner Romario Greaves (18 at 42.83) and leg-spinner Zishan Motara (15 at 36.33).

Bad: Kirstan Kallicharan. A member of the victorious West Indies team at the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup, Kallicharan has found regional cricket a tough ladder to climb. In three matches, he only compiled 65 runs at 10.83.

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