It is a battle of number four and five on the current point standings (as of Wednesday evening) of this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
On Thursday from 10:00h, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots will come up against Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia.
Though winless from two matches- one being rained out- the Warriors are still optimistic they can begin to string together winning performances, and though it is just their third match, it is bordering on ‘must-win’ territory, given Barbados Royals and Jamaica Tallawahs have made strong starts.
With three more matches on the road before they head home to their fortress at the National Stadium, Providence, opening batsman Chandrapaul Hemraj indicated that they need to find momentum now.
“We need to get some confidence going, we need to start winning some games and get the momentum heading into the back-end of the tournament,” he told News Room Sport after a training session at the Gros Islet cricket ground on Wednesday.
The Warriors’ next encounter is against St. Lucia Kings on September 10 from 19:00h, then they head to Trinidad for two matches – against Trinbago Knight Riders (September 14) and Barbados Royals (September 18).
That will be followed by four home games at Providence, and potentially the knockout matches.
Ireland’s Paul Stirling, who is on his maiden CPL journey, expressed confidence the Warriors have what it takes to cross the line if they meet another final.
“They [Amazon Warriors] seem to be doing a lot of things right in getting to the [five] finals, but I think they are desperate to get one step further and try and win it this year. I think all you can do is keep putting yourself in those positions and eventually, you will get across the line,” Stirling contended.
KEEMO FIT TO BOWL
Meanwhile, Head Coach, Rayon Griffith clarified that key all-rounder Keemo Paul was fit to bowl against Jamaica Tallawahs, however, skipper Shimron Hetmyer preferred other options in the situation.
Against the Tallawahs, the Warriors’ spin trio- Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi and Gudakesh Motie- had their quota up by the 16th over and it meant the equation was 50 from 24 balls, and the Tallawahs achieved it with four balls remaining.
Surprisingly, Paul did not bowl any over in the innings.
“He definitely was picked to bowl and bat. Maybe, it was the situation of the game. I believe as it got to the back-end, I believe the skipper would not have gone for him, but maybe he had different ideas.”
Though conditions in the lead-up to the contest suggest it would not be spin-friendly, as is the norm, the Head Coach said he would still back his “experienced spinners” to execute their plans, supported by his faster men.
Further, he contended that the more the likes of Romario Shepherd and Paul play, they will rediscover their rhythm.
Guyana Amazon Warriors squad: Shimron Hetmyer (captain), Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, Colin Ingram, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Paul Stirling, Shai Hope, Heinrich Klaasen, Keemo Paul, Jermaine Blackwood, Gudakesh Motie, Ronsford Beaton, Veerasammy Permaul, Junior Sinclair, Matthew Nandu.
St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots squad: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Darren Bravo, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dwaine Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Izharulhaq Naveed, Qasim Akram, Joshua Da Silva, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Keacy Carty, Kelvin Pittman, Jaden Carmichael
