By Neil Kumar

THE 2024 Republic Bank, Caribbean Premier League is now climaxing in Guyana. The defending champions, Guyana Amazon Warriors are certainly on a high.
Playing in a match on Wednesday night at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, the home team humiliated the Barbados Royals when they completely out-played them with the ball and the bat.

The “Royals” won the toss and asked the “Warriors” to take first strike. The Amazon Warriors hammered the Royals’ bowling to all parts of the ground as they accumulated a winning 219 runs off their allotted 20 overs. The international opening batsmen gave the home team a brisk start.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened the batting with, (crowd attraction) Azam Khan as they ensured that the score board recorded runs. However, it was the team’s most respected and exciting batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope who put on a dashing but solid century partnership.

The batting of the two “Warriors” was indeed exciting and their ability to rotate the strike and hit the ball out of the boundary were most entertaining. Also, Romario Shepherd continues to be the ‘hitman’ in the tournament.
The Royals, in reply to the Warriors’ score, visibly suffered heavily from scoreboard pressure as they struggled and perished in their attempt to attain the Warriors’ imposing score.
The spinners Gudakesh Motie, Moeen Ali and the skipper Imran Tahir were always threatening and too good for the opposition batsmen. Only the hard-hitting David Miller proved to be a force to be reckoned with as he hit out desperately at the end all by himself.

All roads are leading to the Guyana National Stadium this weekend. On Saturday the Warriors will take on the St. Lucia Kings and on Sunday the defending champions will play the Trinbago Knight Riders. These two matches will be exciting as all four teams are already in the ‘Four-teams playoff’.
The mammoth and vociferous crowd will rally behind their home team as the CPL fever grips the nation. Expectations are sky high, that the tremendous batting form of the likes of Hetmyer, Hope and Shepherd will be better than that of Pooran and De Cock.

The planning and execution of the 2024 CPL has surpassed that of previous years. This has resulted in the generation of greater interest among the cricketing family around the world.
Our players in this year’s tournament are certainly setting records and marketing themselves for “Franchises” around the world. Guyana is glowing as the carnival atmosphere, the “people participation” and the efficient running of the tournament have produced a thrilling tournament of the highest quality.

Outside of the actual cricket, the 2024 Cricket Carnival season has something for everyone. The packed schedule includes watch parties, a Wet Soca Block Party on Main Street, the much-anticipated Cricket Parade, concerts, Regional Food Festivals, a fashion showcase, among other activities.
Things got underway on September 19, with ‘Welcome Vibes’ at the Cheddie Jagan International Airport (CJIA), a collaboration that involved the Guyana Tourism Authority. Scores of passengers were welcomed into Guyana with sweet sounds of the steelpan, carnival models, and tokens.
As we enjoy the festivities, let’s continue to rally behind the Amazon Warriors!