GUYANA’S star-studded professional cricket team known as the Guyana Amazon Warriors departed these shores yesterday for Grenada for their first of nine preliminary games in this year’s second edition of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament. 

The Warriors, who lost to the Jamaica Tallawahs in the final of the inaugural tournament last year, are being led by West Indies Test skipper Denesh Ramdin. The team boasts the likes of Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez, spin wizard Sunil Narine and the hard-hitting opener Lendl Simmons.
Also included in the lineup are Navin Stewart, New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and James Neesham, Jamaica’s Krishmar Santokie and Guyana’s Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Rensford Beaton, Steven Jacobs, Leon Johnson, Trevon Griffith and Robin Bacchus.
The majority of the 15-man squad spent the last seven days, fine-tuning their preparations for this year’s tournament which begins with the first game against Antigua Hawksbills on Friday, in a preparatory camp held under head coach Roger Harper.
Prior to the team’s departure at the Grand Coastal Hotel, Harper indicated how pleased he was, heading into this year’s tournament.
“We got close last year and we want to do even better this year, looking forward to winning this championship. I am very happy how the camp went. The players responded very well, they were very enthusiastic and I am very happy how things went,” Harper stressed.
During the draft at Chris Gayle’s Triple Century Bar in Jamaica in April, the Guyana Amazon Warriors retained the services of 10 players from last year’s tournament, namely Hafeez, Guptill, Narine, Simmons, Ramdin, Santokie, Barnwell, Jacobs, Permaul and Griffith.
The newcomers this year are Johnson, Beaton, Bacchus, Stewart – a fast bowling all-rounder, and Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder who replaces his fellow countryman Corey Anderson who opted out through injury.
After the game on Friday, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, bought by the New GPC Inc, under its Limacol brand, will then play three of their nine preliminary games at home, on July 17 against Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (19:30h), July 19 against St Lucia Zouks (16:00h) and July 20 against Jamaica Tallawahs (16:00h).
The Amazon Warriors will play Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel on July 24; Barbados Tridents on July 27; Jamaica Tallawahs on August 2; Antigua Hawksbills on August 7; and St Lucia Zouks on August 10 in their final preliminary game.