As Guyana Harpy Eagles bask in the glory of being crowned champions of regional first-class cricket, their captain Leon Johnson is feeling mighty proud of his team’s performance throughout the action-packed season.
The ebullient Johnson had the honor of raising the Headley-Weekes Trophy, capping off the final day of his professional career on Saturday the Guyana National Stadium. This came moments after his team performed a miracle with the ball to bowl out Leeward Islands Hurricanes on an eventful final morning. This kept them at the top of the table in the West Indies Championship.
Chasing 143 to win, the Hurricanes started the day on 81-1, and at 91-1, they looked set for a comfortable victory. However, off-spinner Kevin Sinclair with an incredible spell of bowling removed key Leewards batsmen and caused a collapse.
Johnson was overcome with emotion shortly after his team achieved the remarkable comeback and he received the Headley-Weekes trophy from Enoch Lewis, Cricket West Indies Director. He was full of praise for his team.
“This was a great performance … a great team performance and I’m massively proud of everyone who contributed towards us winning. We worked hard before the season, and we worked hard throughout this season. We were really tested in this final match, and we responded to the challenge with a magnificent win,” Johnson said.
“One of the great things about the season was the progress made by the young players in the team. As various time they stood up with major performances and that was great to see. We made progress. Also, tribute to the senior players who also led from the front, offered invaluable advice and made my job as captain easier on and off the field.
“Thanks to the fans and all those persons who backed us from start to finish. As a proud Guyanese I retire from the game lifting this prestigious trophy and also happy that I can bring smiles to the faces of the supporters.”
The Guyana Harpy Eagles find themselves at the pinnacle of regional first-class cricket once again after completing a stunning comeback on the final day of their final round fixture against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Providence to secure their sixth hold on the West Indies Championship title in eight years.
The Hurricanes entered day four in the driver’s seat, being 81-1 needing just 62 more runs for victory with nine wickets in the shed. Kieran Powell and Keacy Carty were the batsmen at the crease on 47 and 17, respectively.
The Leewards lost their first wicket of day four when Kevin Sinclair removed Carty for 21 before trapping Devon Thomas in front for a duck two balls later.
The Hurricanes then went on to lose their final seven wickets for just 17 runs as the Harpy Eagles completed a spectacular final day comeback.
Their efforts were led by Kevin Sinclair’s career-best figures of 6-33 off 16.5 overs while Veerasammy Permaul took 3-44 from his 15 overs.
The Harpy Eagles ended the campaign with 84 points, 9.8 points ahead of the Windward Islands Volcanoes in second.
Tournament leaders the Guyana Harpy Eagles are on the verge of a crushing defeat at the hands of the Leeward Islands Volcanoes in their final round game at Providence.
Kemol Savory and Veerasammy both scored half-centuries to help the Harpy Eagles, who started day three 48-1 trailing by 77 runs, post 267 in 79 overs in their second innings.
Savory finished 66* off 157 balls while Permaul made 65. Earlier, Kevlon Anderson and Kevin Sinclair both made 31.
Rakheem Cornwall finished with 4-58 off 22 overs for the Hurricanes.
Chasing just 143 for victory, the Hurricanes ended day three 81-1 with Kieran Powell on 47 and Keacy Carty on 17.
The Harpy Eagles entered the round with a 10.2-point lead over the Windward Islands Volcanoes, who are currently in the driver’s seat against the Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval.
Tournament leaders Guyana Harpy Eagles ended day two of their final round game against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes with a 77-run second innings lead at Providence.
The Leewards made 247 all out off 92.1 overs after starting the day 133-5.
Captain Jahmar Hamilton finished not out on 58 while Kofi James contributed 42 and Rakheem Cornwall 24 against 4-33 from 12.1 overs from pacer Nial Smith and 3-51 off 31 overs from Veerasammy Permaul.
The Harpy Eagles ended the day 48-1 in their second innings, trailing by 77 runs with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 20 and Kevlon Anderson on 19.
Jeremiah Louis took the only wicket to fall so far, removing Matthew Nandu for three.
Rahkeem Cornwall took four wickets as the Leeward Islands Hurricanes shot out Guyana Harpy Eagles for 122 at Providence on the opening day of their match at Providence. At stumps, the Leewards were 133-5, a lead of 11.
Opener Matthew Nandu was the top scorer for Guyana as Cornwall took 4-27 while Javier Spencer 2-35 and Colin Archibald 2-27.
In reply, opener Kieran Powell and Keacy Carty shared in a second-wicket partnership of 69 but after Kevin Sinclair dismissed Powell for 35, the Leewards slipped from 73-2 to 84-4 with Carty and Devon Thomas losing their wickets to Veersammy Permaul for 23 and two, respectively.
Anthony Adams was dismissed by Anthony Adams for 10 with the Leewards still 18 runs behind.
Howeverm Jahmar Hamilton (35) and Kofi James (9) took the Leewards beyond Guyana’s score and have so far put on 29 for the sixth wicket when play concluded for the day.
Permaul has so far taken 2-31.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles will take a 10.2-point lead into their fifth and final round game of the 2022/23 West Indies Championship against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Providence.
The Harpy Eagles defeated the Jamaica Scorpions by 228 runs in round four for their third win to move to 68.2 points.
Second-placed Windward Islands Volcanoes kept pace with the Harpy Eagles at the top with a six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Stadium to move to 58 points.
Their opponents in the final round will be third-placed Barbados Pride, who have 50 points after beating the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force by seven wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval. That game will take place at the same venue.
The points table is rounded out by the Hurricanes (41.4), the Red Force (28.6) and the Jamaica Scorpions (21.2). The Red Force will play the Scorpions at the Brian Lara Stadium in the final round.
All games start on Wednesday at 9:00am Jamaica Time (10:00 am ECT).
Kevin Sinclair took 4-37 to lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles to a 228-run win over the Jamaica Scorpions on day four of their fourth-round fixture at Providence on Saturday.
The Scorpions started day four 176-1 off 43 overs with a glimmer of hope of pulling off a historic chase.
That hope was quickly dashed as Tevin Gilzene and Jermaine Blackwood, who entered the day on 81 and 66, respectively, were swiftly dismissed for 85 and 67. Paul Palmer Jr also went for a duck in between those wickets as the Scorpions were suddenly 207-4.
The wickets continued to tumble as the Scorpions were eventually bowled out for 229 in the 67th over.
Sinclair finished with figures of 4-37 off 18.2 overs while Ronsford Beaton took 3-85 off 17 and Veerasammy Permaul took 2-23 off 11.
Jamaica Scorpions chasing a mammoth 459 for victory against Guyana Harpy Eagles were 176-1 at stumps, needing a further 282 to achieve an unlikely victory on Friday.
When play resumes on Saturday morning, Tevin Gilzene will carry on from 81 hoping for a big century as is Jermaine Blackwood, who was unbeaten on 66. The pair has so far put on 166 for the second wicket after losing opening batter Leroy Lugg for 10.
Earlier, Guyana picked up from their overnight score of 138-4 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 60 and Tevin Imlach on an even 50. The pair had extended their partnership to 175 when Chanderpaul was trapped lbw by Blackwood for 89.
Meanwhile, Imlach went to make an unbeaten 136 as Guyana declared at 294-7, 458 ahead of the Scorpions.
Mindley finished with the impressive figures of 6-54 after running through the Guyana middle order. Blackwood took 1-41.
Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul and wicket-keeper/batsman Tevin Imlach notched late half-centuries as the Guyana Harpy Eagles ended day two of their fourth-round fixture against the Jamaica Scorpions with a 301-run second innings lead at Providence.
The hosts began the day 268-9 off 86.3 overs.
Harpy Eagles captain Leon Johnson carried on from his overnight 142 to finish 150* as Guyana were bowled out for 278 off 88.1 overs.
Marquino Mindley ended with 3-34 while Ojay Shields and Derval Green both ended with two wickets.
The Scorpions endured a horrendous start to their reply losing half of the team for just 24 runs inside six overs and three balls.
Eventually, they found themselves 64-9 in the 18th over before a39-run 10th wicket partnership between Derval Green and Nicholson Gordon meant they entered the lunch break 103-9 off 27 overs.
The pair added 12 more runs after lunch before Green fell for a top score 42 as the Scorpions were dismissed for 115 in 35.5 overs.
Nial Smith ended with 5-39 while Veerasammy Permaul and Ronsford Beaton took 3-22 and 2-22, respectively.
Mindley then led a Scorpions fightback before tea as he grabbed four quick wickets, including that of Leon Johnson, within the first 12 overs of the Harpy Eagles second innings.
The score at tea was 37-4 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 14 and Tevin Imlach yet to get off the mark.
After tea, Chanderpaul and Imlach continued on to leave the Harpy Eagles 138-4 at stumps, a lead of 301 runs with Chanderpaul on 60 and Imlach on 50.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles have an 11.2-point lead at the top of the 2022/23 West Indies Championship table heading into round four starting on Wednesday.
Guyana, who won five straight regional four-day titles from 2015-2019, have two wins and a draw from their three games to lead the table with 49 points.
The Windward Islands Volcanoes find themselves second on 37.8 points thanks to a win and two draws, a similar record to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes who are third with 34.2 points
Three points behind the Hurricanes are reigning back-to-back champions the Barbados Pride after a win and two losses.
The Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, with two draws and a loss, are fifth on 24.8 points while the Jamaica Scorpions are way back in sixth on 15.8 points after two losses and a draw.
Round four will see the Harpy Eagles taking on the Jamaica Scorpions at Providence, the Leeward Islands Hurricanes taking on the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force facing the Barbados Pride at the Queen’s Park Oval.
Darren Bravo and Amir Jangoo scored second innings fifties but could not prevent the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force from suffering a 143-run defeat to the Guyana Harpy Eagles on Saturday’s day four at the Brian Lara Stadium.
The Red Force started the day 106-3 and lost their fourth wicket quickly as Jyd Goolie was run out for 18 in the 48th over with the score on 119.
Tion Webster then joined Bravo at the crease and the pair put on 25 before Webster was bowled by Veerasammy Permaul for 16 in the 55th over.
Bravo was next to go, falling agonizingly short of his third hundred of the season when he was dismissed by Permaul for a well-made 170-ball 95 in the 61st over.
The very next ball saw Permaul remove Imran Khan for a golden duck to leave the red Force reeling at 165-7.
Bryan Charles was next to go, falling for one with the score on 174.
Red Force were 175-8 at lunch needing a further 247 runs to win with Amir Jangoo (10) and Uthman Muhammad (0) at the crease.
Jangoo and Muhammad continued to fight after lunch until Muhammad was dismissed by Ronsford Beaton for 25 with the score on 211 in the 83rd over.
The last pair of Jangoo and debutant Justin Manick put on a valiant 57 for the last wicket before Manick went for 22 off the bowling of Kevin Sinclair.
Jangoo ended up 50 not out as the Red Force were bowled out for 268 in 97.5 overs.
Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 247-6 declared off 83 overs (Kemol Savory 101*, Leon Johnson 74, Darren Bravo 2-23, Bryan Charles 2-60)
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37) and 268 off 97.5 overs (Darren Bravo 95, Amir Jangoo 50*, Veerasammy Permaul 3-58, Ronsford Beaton 2-53, Keemo Paul 2-73).
Kemol Savory made his maiden first-class hundred as the Guyana Harpy Eagles and Trinidad & Tobago Red Force set up an interesting final day in their third-round fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium.
Friday’s day three started with Kemol Savory and skipper Leon Johnson at the crease aiming to put the Harpy Eagles further in control of the game.
The morning session saw them do just that as score was 96-3 off 34 overs at the start of the day and, by lunch, the pair added a further 91 runs to have the Harpy Eagles 187-3 after 65 overs, enjoying a healthy 351-run lead with Savory was not out on 76 while Johnson was on 54.
The post-lunch session was equally fruitful for the Harpy Eagles. Johnson eventually fell for 74 before Savory eventually brought up a maiden first-class hundred, finishing 101 not out off 222 balls as Guyana declared on 247-6 setting the Red Force a target of 412 for victory.
At the tea break, the Red Force were 5-1 after five overs. Jeremy Solozano was the man to fall for a nine-ball duck.
The Red Force lost two further wickets after tea with Keagan Simmons (8) and Jason Mohammed (13) both falling to Keemo Paul.
At stumps, the Red Force were 106-3 off 39 overs, requiring a further 306 to win, with Darren Bravo on 63 and Jyd Goolie on 14.
Keemo Paul has, so far, taken 2-38 off 10 overs for the Harpy Eagles.
Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 247-6 declared off 83 overs (Kemol Savory 101*, Leon Johnson 74, Darren Bravo 2-23, Bryan Charles 2-60)
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37) and 106-3 off 39 overs (Darren Bravo 63*, Jyd Goolie 14*, Keemo Paul 2-38).
Day two of the Guyana Harpy Eagles third-round West Indies Championship fixture against the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the Brian Lara Stadium was a historic one for Harpy Eagles left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
The 33-year-old took three wickets in the Red Force’s first innings and, in the process, surpassed Jamaican Nikita Miller to become the leading wicket-taker in regional first-class cricket.
Miller ended his career in 2019 with 511 wickets and Permaul now has 512.
“I’m very happy to be the leading wicket-taker in the region,” Permaul told CWI in an interview after day two.
“It’s something I was looking forward to and, eventually, it happened,” added Permaul who made his first-class debut all the way back in 2007.
Permaul also gave a nod of respect to the man whose record he broke.
“I have a lot of respect for Nikita Miller. He has done amazingly for Jamaica and is one of the best left-arm spinners we have seen in the Caribbean,” he said.
Permaul has also represented the West Indies at the highest level, taking 31 wickets in nine Tests.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles hold a 260-run lead over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force after day two of their third-round fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium.
The Red Force started day two 7-0 replying to Guyana’s 324.
The Trinidadian opening pair of Jeremy Solozano and Keagan Simmons managed to put on 38 before Simmons went of the bowling of Keemo Paul for 15 in the 18th over.
Solozano and new batsman Darren Bravo brought the score past 50 in the 20th over before Solozano became Paul’s second victim, also going for 15.
Just eight runs later, Captain Bravo was the third man to fall for 15, going caught off the bowling of Ronsford Beaton in the 21st over.
Jason Mohammed (16) and Jyd Goolie (6) then came together and brought the Red Force to lunch on 81-3, trailing the Harpy Eagles by 243 runs.
After lunch, Mohammed and Goolie continued to toil against some good Harpy Eagles bowling before their resistance was broken in the 34th over when Paul dismissed Goolie for 22 with the score on 117.
It quickly became 118-5 as Tion Webster fell to Veerasammy Permaul a few overs later for a duck.
Amir Jangoo was next to the crease and he and Mohammed added 32 before he too went off the bowling of Permaul for 18 to leave the Red Force 150-6 in the 47th over.
Permaul was at it again when he dismissed Imran Khan for two with the score on 157 in the 49th over.
Ronsford Beaton took the final three wickets of the innings, dismissing Bryan Charles, Jason Mohammed for a well made 50, his 18th in first class cricket, and Justin Manick for a duck.
Just before the tea break, the Red Force were bowled out for 160 in 52 overs, trailing the Harpy Eagles by 164 runs.
Ronsford Beaton ended with 4-31 from his 13 overs while Keemo Paul and Veerasammy Permaul took 3-37 and 3-36, respectively.
Guyana lost Tevin Imlach very early in their second innings, going for just three in the fourth over off the bowling of Uthman Muhammad.
The score was 31-1 in the 12th over when the Harpy Eagles lost their second wicket, Kevlon Anderson caught off the bowling of Daren Bravo for 15.
Matthew Nandu and Kemol Savory then put on 49 for the third wicket before Nandu fell for 33 in the 27th over.
At stumps, the Harpy Eagles were 96-3, leading the Red Force by 260 runs with Savory (34) and captain Leon Johnson (9) at the crease.
Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 96-3 off 34 overs (Kemol Savory 34*, Matthew Nandu 33)
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37)
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