In the lead-up to Round 3 of the 2025 West Indies Championships, which kicks off today, the Guyana Harpy Eagles (GHE) have had to make some adjustments to their squad due to injuries and precautionary measures. Notably, West Indies all-format spinner Gudakesh Motie is set to return to the lineup.
As Motie rejoins the team for this crucial round, opening batsman Tagenarine Chanderpaul will be sidelined after sustaining a split webbing on his hand. Additionally, Shamar Joseph, who recently returned from a shin splint injury, will also miss this round for precautionary reasons, as confirmed by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). Consequently, Junior Sinclair has been called up to join the 13-member squad.
The Harpy Eagles are scheduled to face the West Indies Academy today at 13:00hrs in a day/night, pink-ball match. Before the game, Captain Tevin Imlach discussed the team’s strategy and the lessons learned from their previous match. “The twilight period is obviously a challenge; that’s when the ball tends to do a lot more. So, we’ll take that into account in our planning, get a few practice sessions in, and hopefully, we could build a good plan around that game,” Imlach stated.
Reflecting on the victory against the Combined Campuses and Colleges last Saturday, Imlach expressed, “A lot of confidence! Winning is crucial for a team’s progression, but we needed that little hiccup in the first innings to realize that no team will simply roll over and hand us their wickets. Both the negatives and positives will be taken into account as we learn and move forward.â€
The updated Guyana Harpy Eagles squad is as follows: Captain and Wicket-keeper Tevin Imlach; Vice-Captain Kemol Savory; Matthew Nandu, Raymond Perez, Kevlon Anderson, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Kevin Sinclair, Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Thaddeus Lovell, Nial Smith, Richie Looknauth, and Junior Sinclair. The coaching and management team includes Coach Ryan Hercules, Manager Albert Clements, Assistant Coach Garvin Nedd, Physiotherapist Angelica Holder, Analyst Ryerson Bhagoo, and Strength and Conditioning Coach Jarryl Moore.
The West Indies Academy squad is led by Captain Teddy Bishop, with wicketkeeper Carlton Bowen-Tuckett, and players Mavendra Dindyal, Ackeem Auguste, Justin Jagessar, Rivaldo Clarke, Joshua Bishop, Johann Layne, McKenny Clarke, Jediah Blades, Zishan Motara, Michael Palmer, and Nathan Edward rounding out the team.
After two rounds of play, the Leeward Islands Hurricanes are at the top of the points table with 45.4 points, closely followed by the defending champions, Guyana Harpy Eagles, with 45.2 points. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force hold the third position with 44.4 points, while Jamaica Scorpions and Barbados Pride are fourth and fifth, with 29.4 and 28.6 points, respectively.
