Defending champions Barbados Pride are expected to do well against the Guyana Harpy Eagles, when the third round of the Regional First Class Championship starts at the famous Queen’s Park Oval, in Trinidad and Tobago, tomorrow.
Veteran commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira noted that winning the toss for either team will be crucial and he also said that Guyana made a huge error in not retaining the services of Barbadian all-rounder Raymon Reifer.
“When I did not see Raymon Reifer in the Guyana lineup for the start of the season, they had made an error. I don’t know all the facts, I don’t know if Reifer had asked for a transfer back to Barbados or if Guyana did not retain him. I think they had the right to retain him and looking at the figures thanks to Keith Holder, Reifer played 42 matches for Guyana, 1555 runs at an average of 30, 118 wickets at an average of 23.
“When Reifer was not taking wickets for Guyana, captain Leon Johnson had him bowling left arm over and bowling great defensive spells that cut the opposition’s run rate, built pressure and the wickets fell. All the information about why Reifer was not retained by Guyana was never really put out there. Reifer has enhanced his career since moving on and is a big loss to the Guyana team. He is a real team man and was key to the Guyana performance in the past,” Perreira explained.
A voice known in commentary boxes in many parts of the region and the world for decades, Perreira said it felt good to have the four-day cricket back and added he was looking forward to an interesting couple of matches.
He expects the Barbados Pride led by Captain Kraigg Brathwaite to do well in the competition given the depth and quality of the team which also includes Reifer and other West Indian players such as the talented Jason Holder and Shai Hope.
“Barbados will enter these rounds of matches in a very strong and confident position. They are in a position of who to leave out from a very strong Barbados side minus Jason Holder who should continue to do well once basic skills are applied. I think they have a strong attack but must include a spinner or two depending on the conditions in Trinidad which tends to favour spin. So, it cannot be all pace,” he added.
Barbados won impressively on home soil defeating Leeward Islands Hurricanes by four wickets in their opening encounter followed by a superb ten-wicket success against the Jamaican Scorpions. The wins brought them 42 points and placed them top of the standings.
However, they are closely trailed by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force on 38.6 points, Leeward Islands Hurricanes have amassed 24.6 points for third position while Guyana Harpy Eagles have nestled in fourth place on 21.4.
While Barbados coached by former West Indies fast bowler Vasbert Drakes looks good on paper and are certainly capable of delivering on the field of play, there are some concerns surrounding Guyana’s batting and bowling.
“The Guyana situation is one where they did not have a good first round of matches and the practice matches have recently been affected by the weather. But there was a little bit of hope and the batting was beginning to turn around. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s son, Tagenarine (Chanderpaul) managed to get 169, although there was a statement that indicated before he batted that he might have been left out and that they could have opened the innings with Chanderpaul Hemraj.
“That might now change because of the Chanderpaul performance of 169 scored in good time. He played a lot of shots and maybe after having a long chat with his father decided to work on his technique. The other encouraging sign is that they were half-centuries from Vishaul Singh and Anthony Bramble,” Perreira shared.
The veteran commentator is also questioning where in the batting lineup should Guyana captain Leon Johnson bat given his lack of form. Johnson hardly got runs in the trial matches and Perreira suggested that he be moved from number three to position number six to hold the innings together.
While the batting may need some restructuring, Perreira is of the view that the Guyana bowling lineup is rather interesting with the inclusion of Ronsford Beaton who hasn’t played First Class cricket in four years but yet bowled with pace and hostility and in so doing captured five wickets for 60 runs during trials. Beaton was out of competitive first-class cricket rectifying issues with his bowling action after being officially cited for throwing a few years ago.
Nial Smith is also one to watch and Perreira noted that given the young man’s pace, he should add substance to the Guyana bowling led by West Indies medium pacer and Vice-captain Keemo Paul.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
