DEFENDING champions and 2025 table-toppers Guyana Harpy Eagles got their noses in front in their decisive West Indies Championship Four-Day clash with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at Queen's Park Oval, St Clair as they seized a first-innings lead by the end of the second day's play on April 10.
Resuming from their overnight score of 214 for seven, the second-placed TT team added just 26 runs to their tally as they were bowled out for 240. Middle-order batsman Jyd Goolie added one to his overnight score as he was dismissed for 58, with seamer Nial Smith (four for 49) ending as the pick of the bowlers after removing Goolie and Bryan Charles off consecutive balls in the fourth over of the day.
Keemo Paul grabbed three for 45 after his impressive spell on the opening morning, while Ronaldo Alimohammed grabbed two scalps including that of Joshua James (15) who was the last man dismissed.
Guyana, who came into this final round fixture on 111.6 points compared to Red Force's 105.4 points, did their title credentials no harm as they surged to 269 for five at stumps and will take a 29-run lead into day three.
Opener Raymond Perez set the tone for Guyana's reply with 82 off 144 balls, while Kevlon Anderson shot to the top of this season's scoring charts with a fluent 51 off 62. After Perez and Matthew Nandu (11) put together a 58-run opening partnership, the former player added 73 with Anderson as the pair frustrated TT in the post-lunch session.
Guyana lost their second wicket with the score on 131 when the busy Anderson was trapped lbw by the tournament's leading wicket-taker, Khary Pierre (three for 61), after missing a straighter delivery.
Guyana went to the tea interval at 163 for two, but their control of proceedings loosened somewhat when Pierre breached the defences of the right-handed Perez and had him out lbw as the score moved to 171 for three. For the 25-year-old Perez, his 11 boundaries helped him to his highest First Class score and third fifty. However, TT would have been ruing an earlier miss as Perez was put down on 18 in the first session by Goolie, who made a meal of a simple chance on the fine leg boundary off James' bowling.
Harpy Eagles skipper Tevin Imlach was then joined by Kemol Savory. After surviving a few lbw shouts from pacer Shannon Gabriel (one for 67), a watchful Imlach (33 off 90) put on 50 for the fourth wicket with Savory (32 off 79) before he was caught behind by Joshua Da Silva off the bowling of Pierre as the hosts stemmed the flow of runs.
Even as Guyana edged closer to the Red Force's 240, a sustained spell of pressure from the hosts brought another wicket when Savory was spectacularly caught at first slip by Charles after flashing at a Gabriel delivery.
Guyana were on 237 for five at that stage, and they could smell the first-innings lead and the ability to dictate the pace of the game.
Allrounders Paul (18 not out) and Kevin Sinclair (21 not out) helped themselves to a few boundaries off Gabriel in the latter stages of the day before the player
