By Rajiv Bisnauth

WITH the aim of going one step further and win the title, the Guyana Amazon Warriors departed for St Kitts and Nevis yesterday to begin their campaign in the fourth edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).The Warriors, minus skipper Martin Guptill and leg-spinner Adam Zampa, looked a relaxed bunch as they departed the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.
Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who is dubbed a “free agent” also departed with the Warriors line-up.

However, due to Bishoo being a centrally contracted West Indies Cricket Board(WICB) player, he could only be chosen as a replacement, but not as a frontline selection.

Bishoo could only be called upon to play provided he is not on West Indies duties.

Meanwhile, head coach Roger Harper told media operatives prior to the team’s departure that as a management unit they are happy with the preparation leading up to the tournament.

“Generally, I think concerning the role the weather played, we are very happy(with) what we managed to do. We got in three good simulation exercises, we had one warm up game, and I think the guys did pretty well, so we are happy where we are,” Harper said.

“All the teams in the tournament are well balanced teams, so we expect each match to be very competitive, so we know we have to play good cricket. To our home fans, we will go out there and work hard and make them proud,” the former West Indies Vice-captain pointed out.

The squad includes six specialist batsmen in- New Zealand’s Guptill, Barbados’ Dwayne Smith, Australia’s Chris Lynn, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jason Mohammed, Antigua’s Orlando Peters and Guyana’s Assad Fudadin.
Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan, Christopher Barnwell and Steven Jacobs of Guyana, and Rayad Emrit of Trinidad and Tobago are the all-rounders, while the bowlers are Veerasammy Permaul and Paul Wintz (Guyana), Zampa (Australia) and Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan (ICC Americas).
Anthony Bramble (Guyana) and Steven Katwaroo (Trinidad and Tobago) are the wicketkeepers, while successful West Indies Under-19 World Cup captain, Shimron Hetmyer, is the Under-19 selectee.
Guptill was bought as the Marquee Player, while those retained from last year were Permaul, Barnwell and Bishoo.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will play 10 games in the preliminary phase of the League, with four matches in Guyana, two in Florida, and one each in Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and St Lucia.
After finishing as runners-up, losing to Jamaica Tallawahs in 2013 and Barbados Tridents in 2014, the South America side open the season with their first game against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Thursday at Warner Park.

Hero CPL 2016 will be held from June 29 to August 7.