Guyana Harpy Eagles aim for their first West Indies Championship title in three seasons, as they have been strengthened further for their fourth-round clash with bottom-of-the-table Jamaica Scorpions.
The unbeaten hosts enter the penultimate round on 49 points, a lead of nearly 12 points over the second-placed Windward Islands Volcanoes, who clash with Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Stadium.
Harpy Eagles will be bolstered by the Test pair of left-hander Tagenarine Chanderpaul and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, both having recently featured for West Indies on the Test tour of South Africa.
Chanderpaul, the son of Test legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, has been in excellent form recently, scoring a Test double hundred away to Zimbabwe.
Motie took 19 wickets in that two-Test series and will be a massive addition to an already potent Harpy Eagles attack.
Harpy Eagles, unbeaten for the campaign, enter the contest against Scorpions at the Guyana National Stadium high on the confidence especially after crushing Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by 143 runs in the last round.
Winless Scorpions, with two defeats in three outings, have also received a boost with the inclusion of Test vice-captain and marquee batsman Jermaine Blackwood.
Barbados Pride, meanwhile, has suffered a late blow with the withdrawal of Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
He was initially named in the squad to face Red Force at Queen’s Park Oval but has since been replaced by uncapped 20-year-old left-hander Rashawn Worrell.
Still, Pride will welcome the return of fast bowler Akeem Jordan and West Indies left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.
Jordan, Pride’s leading wicket-taker, was a member of the Test squad in South Africa but did not feature in either of the two Tests.
Red Force, still without a win in the tournament, has been lifted by the inclusion of Test wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva and West Indies speedster Anderson Phillip, who has returned from injury.
Red Force has made three changes, also calling up the uncapped Kamil Pooran while dropping Jeremy Solozano, Keagan Simmons, and Justin Manick.
Hurricanes lie third on 34.2 points, Pride is fourth on 31.2, with Red Force fifth on 24.8 and Scorpions last on 15.4 points.
SQUADS:
GUYANA HARPY EAGLES – Leon Johnson (captain), Antony Adams, Kevlon Anderson, Ronsford Beaton, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Matthew Nandu, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemol Savory, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith
JAMAICA SCORPIONS – Paul Palmer jr. (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Tevin Gilzene, Derval Green, Nicholson Gordon, Patrick Harty, Leroy Lugg, Abhijai Mansingh, Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Ojay Shields, Aldaine Thomas
BARBADOS PRIDE – Shane Dowrich (captain), Camarie Boyce, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Chaim Holder, Akeem Jordan, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Shayne Moseley, Roshon Primus, Jomel Warrican, Kevin Wickham, Rashawn Worrell
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO RED FORCE – Darren Bravo (captain), Bryan Charles, Joshua Da Silva, Jyd Goolie, Amir Jangoo, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Vikash Mohan, Uthman Muhammad, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Kamil Pooran, Tion Webster
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, Javier Spencer, Devon Thomas
WINDWARD ISLANDS VOLCANOES – Alick Athanaze (captain), Sunil Ambris, Teddy Bishop, Keron Cottoy, Kenneth Dember, Larry Edward, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Johan Jeremiah, Ryan John, Shermon Lewis, Preston McSween, Tevyn Walcott
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