The Guyana Harpy Eagles will enter the seventh and final round of the 2025 West Indies Championship with a narrow lead in the points standings after their sixth-round match against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes ended in a draw at Warner Park on Saturday.
Despite gaining a 143-run first innings advantage on day two, the Hurricanes once again squandered valuable points that could have improved their chances of winning their first West Indies Championship title.
The defending champion Harpy Eagles avoided repeating earlier mistakes in the match by focusing on batting time rather than aggressive strokeplay, which had been their opponents’ downfall. Captain Tevin Imlach crafted a masterful 123 from 246 deliveries, becoming the second centurion of the innings following Kevlon Anderson’s 101. Both batsmen reached significant milestones during their innings, with Imlach accumulating 502 championship runs this season and Anderson reaching 522. Kevin Sinclair also contributed with a well-played 62.
After beginning day four at 381-4 off 138 overs in their second innings, the Harpy Eagles declared at 490 for nine in 160.1 overs, setting the Hurricanes a challenging target of 349 to win. Antigua and Barbuda’s left-arm pacer Javier Spencer claimed his maiden five-wicket haul with figures of 5-77 from 25 overs.
The Hurricanes reached 147-3 in their run chase before stumps were drawn after 50 overs. Mikyle Louis scored his second half-century of the match with 61 from 101 balls, including five fours and two sixes, while opening partner Kadeem Henry contributed 36. Veerasammy Permaul took 2-27 from 18 overs for the Harpy Eagles.
This result has dropped the Hurricanes to fourth position with 94 points, behind Barbados Pride (100.0), whom they will face in the final round on Wednesday at Warner Park. Harpy Eagles (111.6 points) will travel to Port-of-Spain to battle Trinidad and Tobago Red Force (105.4 points), giving the home side an advantage in what promises to be an exciting final round with the championship at stake.
Summarized scores:
- Guyana Harpy Eagles: 193 all out in 44.4 overs & 490-9 declared in 160.1 overs
- Leeward Islands Hurricanes: 335 all out in 79.3 overs & 147-3 in 50 overs
