Photo Credit: Cricket West Indies
As the third round of the West Indies Championship starts, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will welcome the leading team, Guyana Harpy Eagles, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Wednesday, 15 March. After two exciting rounds, Guyana Harpy Eagles top the standings with one win over Barbados Pride in Antigua and a nailbiting draw against Windward Islands Volcanoes in Grenada. The leaders are followed by defending champions Barbados Pride, who lost to Guyana but rebounded to beat Jamaica Scorpions
Harpy Eagles’ captain Leon Johnson is enthusiastic about the return of the dynamic and energetic Keemo Paul, who brings versatility to the squad with his lively medium-fast bowling, exciting batting and dynamism in the outfield. Johnson emphasizes the importance of maintaining the team’s momentum from previous rounds and starting strong in their third-round encounter.
“It’s good to have him, a three-dimensional player back in the squad. He has done pretty well for us in the past, he cans win the ball both ways and very capable down the order with the bat,” the experienced left-handed batter said. He added: “As a team, we are looking to just continue where we left off after the last round, we played well, we had some cricket back home during the short break and fitness testing, so the guys are raring to go. We have a good mixture of players, some newcomers, and guys with experience, so it’s important that we start well on Day 1, whether we bat or bowl first.”
Rayad Emrit, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force’s assistant coach, acknowledges the team’s strengths with bat and ball but stressed the need for improvement in the field. To succeed against the formidable Guyana team, Emrit advised his players to remain positive and maintain the level of cricket they exhibited in the first two matches. T&T head into the contest third on the points table with 20.6 points, behind the Guyanese on 28.6 points and the Bajans on 23.0 points.
“Just stay positive, we know the type of cricket they play, they’re a very strong team, they’ve got some new players in the team, we’re at home and it should be comfortable for us but as long as we play positive cricket as we did in the first two matches, we should have the results we want,” Emrit said.
In the other third round matches: Leeward Islands Hurricanes take on Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad, and Jamaica Scorpions facing Windward Islands Volcanoes at Guyana National Stadium. First ball daily is 10am (9am Jamaica).
Fans can stream all West Indies Championship matches live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel and access live ball-by-ball scoring at http://windiescricket.com/ match center. Following the Championship, the new Headley Weekes Series will feature three teams and matches, drawing from top performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The Series will run from April 18 to May 6 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
FULL SQUADS:
Barbados Pride: Shane Dowrich (captain), Camarie Boyce, Jonathan Carter, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Chaim Holder, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Shayne Moseley, Roshon Primus, Ramon Simmonds, Shamar Springer, Kevin Wickham
Guyana Harpy Eagles: Leon Johnson (captain), Antony Adams, Kevlon Anderson, Anthony Bramble, Ronsford Beaton, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Matthew Nandu, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemol Savory, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith
Jamaica Scorpions: Paul Palmer jr. (captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tevin Gilzene, Derval Green, Nicholson Gordon, Patrick Harty, Leroy Lugg, Kirk McKenzie, Abhijai Mansingh, Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Ojay Shields, Aldaine Thomas
Leeward Islands Hurricanes: Jahmar Hamilton (captain), Colin Archibald, Larry Audain, Sheeno Berridge, Rahkeem Cornwall, Karima Gore, Montcin Hodge, Kofi James, Jeremiah Louis, Kieran Powell, Akeem Saunders, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh jr.
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force Daren Bravo (captain), Bryan Charles, Jyd Goolie, Amir Jangoo, Imran Khan, Justin Mannick, Jason Mohammed, Vikash Mohan, Uthman Muhammad, Khary Pierre, Keagan Simmons, Jeremy Solozano, Tion Webster
Windward Islands Volcanoes: Alick Athanaze (captain), Sunil Ambris, Teddy Bishop, Kenneth Dember, Larry Edward, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Johan Jeremiah, Ryan John, Shermon Lewis, Preston McSween, Jerlani Robinson, Tevyn Walcott
FULL MATCH SCHEDULE
WEST INDIES CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
ROUND 1
Guyana Harpy Eagles beat Barbados Pride by 183 runs
Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force
Leeward Islands Hurricanes drew with Jamaica Scorpions
ROUND 2
Barbados Pride beat Jamaica Scorpions by 6 wickets
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force drew with Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Guyana Harpy Eagles
UPCOMING MATCHES
GNS – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana
BLCA – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
QPO – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad
ROUND 3: 15 to 18 March
Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride at QPO
ROUND 4: 22 to 25 March
Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride at QPO
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA
ROUND 5: 29 March to 1 April
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes at GNS
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA
Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO
Headley Weekes Tri-Series
All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua
Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy
Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy
Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley
Name of Author: Cricket West Indies
Cricket West Indies (CWI) governs cricket across the West Indies, a confederation of Caribbean countries. Originally established as the West Indies Cricket Board of Control in the 1920s, it became the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in 1996 and was rebranded as Cricket West Indies in May 2017 as part of a restructuring effort.
