.jpg)
THE Guyana Amazon Warriors regained their winning ways and moved closer to a semi-final berth when they outplayed table-topper Barbados Tridents in their crucial Limacol Caribbean Premier League T20 encounter at the Queen’s Park Oval yesterday.
In the first match of the double-header, skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan won the toss and he immediately decided to take first strike on a pitch that was tailor-made for spinners who are in abundance among his “Warriors”.
In addition to the advantage of the toss, it is a well-known fact that in the last two decades, Barbadian batsmen have proven vulnerable to spinners at all levels.
And Sarwan’s luck proved good in the end as his team registered an emphatic 27-run victory which was delayed by bold hitting by all-rounders Carlos Brathwaite (18 runs, 14 balls, 1×6 and 1×4) and Jason Holder (16 runs, 4 balls, 3x6s and 1×4) , both of whom were severe on the region’s leading off-spinner and world number one rated T20 bowler Sunil Narine who conceded 34 runs in his ten deliveries-his most expensive spell in regional T20 cricket.
Although the Amazon Warriors started disastrously with the dismissal of the in-form batsman Lendl Simmons who played on to the very first delivery of the innings, they recovered well through an invaluable second wicket partnership of 98 between Martin Guptill and Mohammed Hafeez before their last seven wickets crumbled for an addition of only 12 runs.
The Barbados Tridents, having won their first four consecutive matches did well to restrict the Amazon Warriors to 149 for 9 wickets off their allotted 20 overs.
Apart from a solid 48 (47balls, 2x6s and 2x4s) by Shoaib Malik and a cameo of 28 runs (24 balls, 5x4s) by Dwayne Smith and those by Brathwaite and Holder; the rest of the Barbadian Tridents batsmen succumbed meekly and folded up for 122 all out in 19.4 overs.
The Amazon Warriors’ third victory of the inaugural competition propelled them to second position on a better net run-rate than the Jamaica Tallawahs who also have secured three wins when they crushed St Lucia Zouks on Friday evening at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia.
Although the Barbados Tridents lost their latest encounter, they are still ahead of the six franchise teams competing for top honours.
They lead with eight points and are the first team to clinch a semi-final berth.
It was a welcome return to winnings for the Guyana Amazon Warriors and it was New Zealander Martin Guptill who found his best touch and dominated the new record second wicket partnership of 98 which bettered the 63 posted by Dwayne Smith and Shoaib Malik against the St Lucia Zouks at the Beausejour Stadium on August 9.
Smith and Malik eclipsed the Adrian Barath/Ross Taylor tandem’s 62 recorded against the Jamaica Tallawahs on August 7 at the QP Oval.
The Guptill/Hafeez’s 98 eclipsed the 95 posted for the first wicket partnership between Barath and Kevin O’Brien who registered a match-winning 70 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors two days ago.
Guptill topscored with an attractive 73 that was embellished with four sixes and four fours off 55 balls. He was voted “Man of Match” for his outstanding contribution as he laid the foundation for sweet victory. Hafeez made 35 that contained two sixes and two fours of 37 balls.
The Pakistani T20 captain produced a miserly spell of 4-0-19-3 and together with Steven Jacobs who was equally prudent with 4-1-15-2 strangled the Barbados Tridents middle-order after left arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul continued his impressive display and outfoxed Tridents’ batsman Kirk Edwards who was smartly stumped by Denesh Ramdin for one.
It was the breakthrough that the Warriors needed after Smith had smashed Barnwell for two fours in his opening over.
Permaul’s clever variations on a pitch that made strokeplay very difficult caused the Tridents batsmen to be overly cautious and they never got into stride after Hafeez was fortunate to gain an LBW decision against Smith who was struck outside the line of the off stump while playing a stroke
But the umpire thought otherwise and he departed dejectedly for 28 for a second wicket partnership of 31.
That was the last bit of resistance offered as the middle and lower order batsmen gifted their wickets away in attempting to lift the run rate. Hafeez and Jacobs enjoyed their spell and together they conceded 34 runs off their eight overs and combined to snare five wickets between.
From 63 for 6, Malik and Brathwaite restored some fight with the Barbadian all-rounder, the aggressive partner, as he made a little cameo of 18 before both were dismissed in quick succession. Narine gained revenge when he induced a false pull stroke that glided off the upper part of the bat to Santonkie at the backward point position while Malik was caught by Hafeez off Santokie at short extra cover region.
Holder gave the Tridents supporters something to cheer as he smashed Narine for six, four and six (6, 4, and 6) off the first three deliveries of the final over before the Trinidadian spinner closed the innings by deceiving Holder with a straighter delivery which allowed wicketkeeper Ramdin to effect the stumping.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will now travel to Jamaica where they will do battle with the Tallawahs on Thursday at the Sabina Park, Kingston. The winner of this clash will clinch one of the three remaining semi-final place. It should be a sizzling affair.
In the first match of the double-header, skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan won the toss and he immediately decided to take first strike on a pitch that was tailor-made for spinners who are in abundance among his “Warriors”.
In addition to the advantage of the toss, it is a well-known fact that in the last two decades, Barbadian batsmen have proven vulnerable to spinners at all levels.
And Sarwan’s luck proved good in the end as his team registered an emphatic 27-run victory which was delayed by bold hitting by all-rounders Carlos Brathwaite (18 runs, 14 balls, 1×6 and 1×4) and Jason Holder (16 runs, 4 balls, 3x6s and 1×4) , both of whom were severe on the region’s leading off-spinner and world number one rated T20 bowler Sunil Narine who conceded 34 runs in his ten deliveries-his most expensive spell in regional T20 cricket.
Although the Amazon Warriors started disastrously with the dismissal of the in-form batsman Lendl Simmons who played on to the very first delivery of the innings, they recovered well through an invaluable second wicket partnership of 98 between Martin Guptill and Mohammed Hafeez before their last seven wickets crumbled for an addition of only 12 runs.
The Barbados Tridents, having won their first four consecutive matches did well to restrict the Amazon Warriors to 149 for 9 wickets off their allotted 20 overs.
Apart from a solid 48 (47balls, 2x6s and 2x4s) by Shoaib Malik and a cameo of 28 runs (24 balls, 5x4s) by Dwayne Smith and those by Brathwaite and Holder; the rest of the Barbadian Tridents batsmen succumbed meekly and folded up for 122 all out in 19.4 overs.
The Amazon Warriors’ third victory of the inaugural competition propelled them to second position on a better net run-rate than the Jamaica Tallawahs who also have secured three wins when they crushed St Lucia Zouks on Friday evening at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia.
Although the Barbados Tridents lost their latest encounter, they are still ahead of the six franchise teams competing for top honours.
They lead with eight points and are the first team to clinch a semi-final berth.
It was a welcome return to winnings for the Guyana Amazon Warriors and it was New Zealander Martin Guptill who found his best touch and dominated the new record second wicket partnership of 98 which bettered the 63 posted by Dwayne Smith and Shoaib Malik against the St Lucia Zouks at the Beausejour Stadium on August 9.
Smith and Malik eclipsed the Adrian Barath/Ross Taylor tandem’s 62 recorded against the Jamaica Tallawahs on August 7 at the QP Oval.
The Guptill/Hafeez’s 98 eclipsed the 95 posted for the first wicket partnership between Barath and Kevin O’Brien who registered a match-winning 70 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors two days ago.
Guptill topscored with an attractive 73 that was embellished with four sixes and four fours off 55 balls. He was voted “Man of Match” for his outstanding contribution as he laid the foundation for sweet victory. Hafeez made 35 that contained two sixes and two fours of 37 balls.
The Pakistani T20 captain produced a miserly spell of 4-0-19-3 and together with Steven Jacobs who was equally prudent with 4-1-15-2 strangled the Barbados Tridents middle-order after left arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul continued his impressive display and outfoxed Tridents’ batsman Kirk Edwards who was smartly stumped by Denesh Ramdin for one.
It was the breakthrough that the Warriors needed after Smith had smashed Barnwell for two fours in his opening over.
Permaul’s clever variations on a pitch that made strokeplay very difficult caused the Tridents batsmen to be overly cautious and they never got into stride after Hafeez was fortunate to gain an LBW decision against Smith who was struck outside the line of the off stump while playing a stroke
But the umpire thought otherwise and he departed dejectedly for 28 for a second wicket partnership of 31.
That was the last bit of resistance offered as the middle and lower order batsmen gifted their wickets away in attempting to lift the run rate. Hafeez and Jacobs enjoyed their spell and together they conceded 34 runs off their eight overs and combined to snare five wickets between.
From 63 for 6, Malik and Brathwaite restored some fight with the Barbadian all-rounder, the aggressive partner, as he made a little cameo of 18 before both were dismissed in quick succession. Narine gained revenge when he induced a false pull stroke that glided off the upper part of the bat to Santonkie at the backward point position while Malik was caught by Hafeez off Santokie at short extra cover region.
Holder gave the Tridents supporters something to cheer as he smashed Narine for six, four and six (6, 4, and 6) off the first three deliveries of the final over before the Trinidadian spinner closed the innings by deceiving Holder with a straighter delivery which allowed wicketkeeper Ramdin to effect the stumping.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will now travel to Jamaica where they will do battle with the Tallawahs on Thursday at the Sabina Park, Kingston. The winner of this clash will clinch one of the three remaining semi-final place. It should be a sizzling affair.
