… clash with St Lucia Stars today from 16:00hrs

MAINTAINING momentum will be the order of the day when the Guyana Amazon Warriors take on St Lucia Stars in their HERO Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 cricket match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, from 16:00hrs today.

The local franchise, began the 2018 season in rampant fashion, whipping the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by six wickets on Thursday evening.

Guyana bowlers have been exemplary with everyone contributing at crucial times, but it was young batting sensation, Shimron Hetmyer, who snared the limelight with a breezy, unbeaten 79, after the Amazon Warriors suffered early setbacks in the chase, losing three quick wickets inside the first three overs.

Hetmyer, in only his second game announced himself on the CPL stage. His run against Bangladesh recently – 86 and 18 in the second Test and 52, 125 and 30 in the ODIs – continued as he hit nine fours and four sixes to take Guyana home with lots to spare.

At a pre-match press conference yesterday at the Guyana Marriott Hotel Georgetown, head coach Johan Botha said he is expecting a tough game today, adding that the Stars will definitely want to bounce back after their opening defeat against the Trinbago Knight Riders.

“I think when you got a loss you want to bounce back as quickly as you can and certainly

they would want to, tomorrow night (tonight), so it’s up to us to keep on top and keep the pressure on them. Having said that their lineup has some quality players as well, so we will have to bring our A game,” Botha said.

On the other hand, the Stars have concerns, and although the team has been rejigged, with a new captain in Kieron Pollard, the results for St Lucia at the start of the 2018 edition clearly haven’t taken a drastic turn for the better.

They are now on a 12-match losing streak stretching back to 2016, when they were called Zouks.