The Guyana Cricket Association hosted two four-day practice matches for the Guyana Harpy Eagles in preparation for the regional four-day season starting on February 1st.
Accordingly, the two playing teams were named Weerasammy Parmul XI and Tagenarin Chandrapaul XI. On the second day of the practice match for the Harpy Eagles, Savory hit the headlines with a brilliant 170.
In the 2023 West Indies Championship, the regional four-day tournament, Kemol Savory will be looking to grab his chance in the middle order for the Guyana Harpy Eagles.
“Basically, how it set up, I think it might be five. That is pretty good for me, because the sheen is off, and I am a batter looking to score. I am busy between the wickets, so five is good for me.”
The 26-year-old Essequian said in an interview that playing first-class cricket is like a dream come true.
“It is a great feeling. It is like a dream come true for me. I always wanted to play first-class cricket. The longer format, I always want to challenge myself, especially when it comes to batting for long periods.”
In the recent Guyana Harpy Eagles trial match in Providence, Savory scored a brilliant 170. His impressive knock of 17 fours and five sixes off 192 balls led Taginerin’s Chandrapaul XI to a high score at the end of the second day of the four-day practice match at the National Stadium in Providence.
Reflecting on that innings, Savory said,
“We were fielding, and I saw the wicket was a pretty good one to bat on. I always had it at the back of my mind that when I had the opportunity to bat, I want to make full use of the opportunity. I was confident, because I knew it was a good wicket to bat on. Once the ball presented itself, I just looked to stay positive at all times.”
Savory is keen to take Singh’s place in the middle order and make it his own.
“First thing, if I get the opportunity, I want to grab it with both hands. Some of the senior guys are not around, so it is fair that I grab that with both hands and make it count.”
Commenting further, the left-handed batsman said that first-class cricket needs more attention.
“List A cricket is a step close to playing cricket for West Indies. You do not have a lot of bad balls at that level, so when you do have a chance to score, you have to make use of it. the difference between first-class and List A is the longer format, with the red ball where you have to test yourself and technique and mental aspect of the game. All of that comes into the first-class level, the longer format.”
The Harpy Eagles will leave for Antigua on January 29 and they will play Barbados Pride at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from February 1-4, and the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the National Stadium in Grenada from February 8-11.
The championship then takes a break and resumes on March 15 in Trinidad and Tobago for the remaining three rounds.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (Vice-captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Matthew Nandu, Kemol Savory, Tevin Imlach, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Akshaya Persaud, Ashmead Nedd and Shamar Joseph.
The Manager is Albert Clements, Head Coach Ryan Hercules, Assistant Coach Garvin Nedd, Cricket Analyst Keshava Ramphal and Physiotherapist Angelica Holder.