In the modern era of West Indies regional cricket, the Fast Bowling Bonus Point rule has often been the invisible hand that decides the title.
As the Guyana Harpy Eagles prepare for the mid-April commencement of the Four-Day Championship, reportedly solely in Antigua and Barbuda, Head Coach Ryan Hercules is intensifying efforts to build a “failsafe” pace battery.
The move comes in response to previous seasons in which injuries to key personnel stretched the Harpy Eagles squad thin, forcing an over-reliance on a spin-dominant attack.
The Harpy Eagles’ pace department has historically been a victim of its own success. Shamar Joseph’s meteoric rise to the Test side and Romario Shepherd’s white-ball commitments often leave a void at the domestic level.
Furthermore, Keemo Paul’s injury struggles have made ‘bench strength’ a necessity rather than a luxury.
Nial Smith, now 30, remains the spearhead of the attack, but his history of niggles remains a concern.
“With whoever is available, we try our best to work with that,” Hercules said.
“We know over the years there has been a decline in fast bowling in First-Class cricket. We need to make sure we get them [youngsters] in the programme where they understand what is needed to play at this level.”
Isai Thorne, a former West Indies Under-19 seamer, is arguably the jewel of the development programme, offering genuine pace and movement, but at times, injury has hampered his consistent run.
There is also an investment in Sylus Tyndall- another Berbician prospect with a List A debut in 2025 yet to earn his First-Class cap- but he too had his fair share of niggles that limited his appearances.
Last season, Thaddeus Lovell showcased his youthful exuberance during his two matches. A key support to the pacers, and lethal too, has been medium pacer Ronaldo Alimohamed.
Hercules is adamant that the Harpy Eagles cannot afford to be predictable. With the entire tournament being played in Antigua, where pitches often provide more carry and lateral movement than the slow turners of Guyana, the strategic approach must shift.
“We don’t play the same cricket every year,” Hercules noted.
“There are changes in roles, and we will start implementing them in practice matches to see guys hit new benchmarks. What we did last year, we won’t do the exact same thing again. I look forward to seeing the young guys challenging themselves.”
Under the CWI scoring system, teams earn 0.2 points for every wicket taken by a fast bowler. In a tightly contested season, these decimal points often separate the champions from the runners-up.
“We depend heavily on fast-bowling points as much as we have the backing of our spinners,” Hercules admitted.
“It is the simple areas that make you win a tournament.”
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