NEW skipper of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Rayad Emrit, admitted that Martin Guptill’s absence from the squad for the remainder of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament is a big gap to fill.

Guptill, the New Zealander opening batsman, has returned to New Zealand for a family health matter unrelated to the impending birth of his first child.
The 30-year-old has been captaining the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Twenty20 tournament, but will miss the remainder of the competition.

He and wife Laura McGoldrick are expecting their first child – a girl – next month, but it is understood that the health matter involves another Guptill family member.
“It’s definitely a big gap to fill, last year we had to do it as well, but I think we are in good shape now … we won two games at home, and hopefully we can carry that momentum to Barbados.

“We need to take one game at a time … that’s what we did in the last two games, take one game at a time, and if we play the cricket we know we can play, I think we can get over the line, but we have Barbados (Tridents) to play on Tuesday, and that’s our main focus now,” Emrit revealed yesterday after he was appointed to lead the Warriors for the remainder of the league.
Meanwhile, retired New Zealand batsman Luke Ronchi has been roped in as Guptill’s replacement.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who quit international cricket in June this year, has just finished a stint with English club Leicestershire. He became available after the side was eliminated from the ongoing T20 Blast in a nine-wicket quarterfinal loss to Glamorgan.
Ronchi smashed 429 runs in 15 matches for Leicestershire, including three half-centuries, at an average of 33 and a strike rate of 180.25.

On Ronchi’s recruitment, Emrit said “Ronchi has been in some good form in the T20 Blast and that’s why we thought he will be a good addition to the team. He is excited at the top of the order, and I still think that’s the impetus that we need at the top of the order.

Chadwick (Walton) and Sohail (Tanvir) have done it in the last two games and if he (Ronchi) can come in and do the same thing it will be less pressure for the guys in the lower order and back end of the innings; so hopefully he can get it right and score some runs for us when he comes in and makes it easy for us as batters”.

On the other hand Emrit, the Trinidadian, said while the Warriors will be aiming to secure a third straight victory in order to boost their playoffs chances, playing the Tridents at home will be challenging.

“Our bowling unit has been doing excellent for us throughout the tournament, and I think if we continue doing what we doing, we on the right step. Having said that, I know it’s going to be a good battle, a tough battle. We know playing in Barbados will be tough, but Guyana Amazon Warriors went to Barbados before and defeated them as well, so I think we are on a high. But the most important thing is to be consistent and hopefully we can go over there and play the consistent cricket we played the last two games,” he concluded.

The Warriors, with two key round-robin encounters remaining, have for the first time in CPL history found themselves in such a complicated position.
They must win both their games against Barbados Tridents on Tuesday (August 29), and Jamaica Tallawhas on Friday (September 1), if they stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

Trinbago Knight Riders and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have already confirmed for the playoffs, which means the battle for the other two places will come from the Warriors, Tridents and the Tallawahs.