– Comprehensive win over table-leaders TKR needed tonight 

By Clifton Ross 

THE out-of-sorts Guyana Amazon Warriors face their biggest challenge in the CPL bubble yet, when they face Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) under lights in a must-win match at the Queen’s Park Oval (QPO) ground. 

It’s been a mixed journey to date for Chris Green and his team, who need to win at least the next 3 out of 5 games in order to lock down a favourable spot as the 33-match season gets into the tough stages.

Warriors lost their last two games – the first to St Lucia Zouks by 10 runs, followed by another low-scoring encounter versus the Jamaica Tallawahs by 5 wickets.

TKR will have the obvious edge today. Having this battle in their backyard could play a factor for Kieron Pollard and company, who whipped Zouks yesterday in their Duckworth/Lewis-affected game.

Coming up against TKR, who are currently on an unbeaten streak having won 4 from 4, Warriors will have to try a new approach to their batting structure.

Guyana’s leading run-scorer, Shimron Hetmyer failed against Tallawahs and as a result lost his number one run-getters’ spot to St Kitts Patriots opener Evin Lewis who now has 160 runs as well as the tournament’s highest individual score.

TKR’s Colin Munro, number 3 on the runs chart with 133 thus far, is just 10 runs behind Hetmyer and could play a big role tonight given his current form.

Green will need more than ever the most from his bowlers who have been the real unsung heroes this season, helping their side defend some pretty low totals while bagging a number of wickets along the way.

But TKR will certainly be on a mission to out-bat Warriors and due to the poor outing which the entire batting department – apart from Hetmyer – has exhibited, more can be expected from the home team.

Darren Bravo has the third most sixes this season so far (8) while Munro has (7), putting two of TKR’s premier batters in the top-5 list of players with the most sixes.

The in-form Sunil Narine at the top of the order has been a huge plus for the Trinidad franchise, as his newfound love for batting has helped to space out TKR’s lineup.

Chandrapaul Hemraj and Brandon King are in need of runs and should look to Narine for some inspiration on how to approach the batting inside the first 5 overs.

TKR will rely heavily on their middle-order with the Bravo brothers, Pollard, Munro and overseas player Sikandar Raza while opener Lendl Simmons could come to the party this evening.

Apart from Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran who hit 68 recently, Warriors will be sweating after the performances of their openers, power-hitters like Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd and most importantly Ross Taylor.

Taylor had been tipped to play a big role with the bat for Guyana this year but his lack of runs and being intent on playing aggressive cricket has left Warriors in a rough spot, as none of their other batters has shown any resolve to go all the way.

Rutherford should be pushed up the order and have a better chance to get his eyes in. King should be pushed to 3 with Hetmyer getting a chance to open with his Guyana Jaguars partner Hemraj.

Warriors should opt to bat Taylor at 5 or even 6 to help take pressure off him, while Shepherd should make his way back into the side at the expense of Anthony Bramble.

Green, Imran Tahir and Ashmead Nedd are the key in the spin department for Guyana and will have to match skills with the likes of Kharry Pierre, Fawad Ahmed and the 49 year-old Pravin Tabme, all of whom are in good wicket-taking form for TKR.

Looking at the conditions at QPO, TKR may look to bat first and put Warriors under lights where pacer Ali Khan and possibly Pollard and Bravo might have some say with their medium-pace.

Should TKR snap up another win it could help them to secure that number one spot, as they head towards crunch time. Meanwhile, should Warriors suffer another defeat they could slip further down the table from the 3rd place spot which they currently occupy.

The match bowls off at 17:30hrs.