RIDING on Shai Hope’s brutal assault, Barbados Tridents thump the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 30 runs last night in match 6 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at the Providence Stadium .

Chasing 185, the local franchise started on a poor note and eventually reached 155-8 when the overs expired; an innings which never really got going. However, it was Raymond Reifer’s superb bowling (5-20) through the middle and the death overs where he mixed up his pace superbly, which eventually strangled the hosts.

Earlier, Hope struck an entertaining half-century as Barbados Tridents piled up an imposing total.

After the early loss of the openers, Hope and Steve Smith (41 off 37 balls), resurrected the innings with the former taking on the aggressor role and towards the end, Nicholas Pooran put in the perfect finishing touches to post a daunting total, with a 27-ball unbeaten 45.

Hope stroked 88 off 45 balls, belting six fours and six sixes to keep the Tridents innings together. Tridents’ batting got off to a false start with both the openers, Martin Guptill and Dwayne Smith, sent back at the end of the second over.

Guptill, the New Zealander fell without scoring off Sohail Tanvir’s third ball of the innings, to a brilliant one handed catch by Rayad Emrit at mid-off, while Smith was taken at extra cover off Chris Green.

It was left to Hope and the disgraced former Australia captain Smith to lift the side through a third-wicket stand of 105 runs.

The right-handed pair wasted no time in setting an upbeat tempo and ensured the Tridents kept the ascendency, with Hope smashing Tahir for two sixes in the 11th over, while Smith hit consecutive boundaries off Paul in the next over.

The assault continued in the 13th over with Hope displaying terrific power, hitting Tanvir for two sixes. However, Tahir returned for a second spell and trapped Smith in front, but not before the Australian reached the boundary on six occasions. The knock had all the characteristics of a signature Smith innings: the precision placement, the innovative stroke play and the ruthlessness that has seen him become one of the most dangerous batsman around.

At the closing stage of the innings, Tridents lost Hope but Pooran who was there at  the end, belted three sixes off Keemo Paul in the innings final over. The chase was always a tall order for the Warriors, and the top order spluttered to 40-3 at the end of six overs.

Jason Holder was right on the money, removing the danger man Chadwick Walton, while left-arm seamer Reifer took the wicket of Luke Ronchi. Much was expected from Shimron Hetmyer, but he too perished in the fifth over, for a 9-ball 22.

Malik (38) and Sherfane Rutherford (48) set about rebuilding the innings with the idea of a victory lingering on the horizon.

Malik was happy to play second fiddle while enjoying the proximity advantage to the Rutherford show, but Malik’s dismissal was followed by a flurry of wickets at the back end of the innings, despite Rutherford’s big hitting.

The Warriors now move to the USA where they will play the Jamaica Tallawahs on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Warriors has four points from three games.