… Support for Warriors, big part of home-field advantage

By Clifton Ross
ANOTHER must-win game, but with momentum slowly shifting back into the Guyana Amazon Warriors camp, after clinching back-to-back wins to keep their expectations alive, tonight’s skirmish against old nemeses, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), keeps stakes high as they set a course for this year’s final.

Shimron Hetmyer and his boys have been rampant ever since returning to Guyana, turning Guyana National Stadium at Providence into a high-scoring, batting paradise. Much like their previous tests, the Warriors will be seeking to come out with guns blazing, especially with the Trinbago side coming off a tough loss against the St. Kitts Patriots.

Both Brandon King and Faf du Plessis, opening batters, utilised the sublime conditions for batting, registering centuries during their first game, but in losing efforts as the Warriors upstaged both batters and their teams, who suffered losses despite excellent individual performances,

The result shows the immense confidence the Amazon Warriors have in their bowling attack. With an all-star spin bowling unit at their disposal, Gudakesh Motie, Shakib Al-Hasan, Imran Tahir for the most part have been standouts and will need to further tighten the screws against a solid TKR batting order.

Dashing Afghan 20-year-old opener, Ramanullah Gurbaz put on a display of fearless power-hitting during Thursday night’s high-scoring match. His raw aggression fully complemented the Warriors best batter Shai Hope, who now has half-centuries from both games played at Providence.

Those two, coupled with skipper Hetmyer who seems to be coming into some form, will again be looking for big scores. Ferocious all-rounders Odean Smith and Keemo Paul will also be key components down the order, making the home team well-suited for easily chasing or putting on a par 170 score tonight.

TKR’s loss pushed them to the last spot while Warriors have jumped up to fifth with seven points, tied with their opponents for this evening. TKR have been struggling with their opening combination, which seems to be their biggest problem, leaving much on the shoulders of Tim Seifert, their leading run-scorer with 208 runs.

Seifert, fresh off a half-century, alongside a struggling Colin Munro and captain Kieron Pollard, can easily go berserk, but given their inconsistencies, it’s likely that the team could look to bat around the in-form Seifert and provide as much fire-power needed to further ease the New Zealander’s workload.

More is needed from power-hitters Nick Pooran and Andre Russell, who have both been stop-starts but could cut loose in a major way should they settle, come this evening.
TKR will be keen on utilising the likes of star left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, who has been magical, capturing nine wickets to date, pairing him up with the wizard Sunil Narine, leading wicket-taker for TKR, and Ravi Rampaul (11 wickets). They make up a strong, wicket-taking bowling attack which the Warriors need to be wary of.

The home crowd advantage has been great for the local franchise, who have been playing into the energy of their fans as well as the support from a number of high-profile persons, including His Excellency President Irfaan Ali, who was among the fans in the stands cheering on the local franchise while greeting the players after their huge win on Thursday.

Former Guyana and West Indies captain, the legendary Sir Clive Lloyd, has also been brought in as mentor and his influence has already paid dividends, ever since the players arrived in Guyana.
Game time is 19:00hrs.