Tahir, Pretorius bowl Warriors to massive win after Gurbaz, Andrew star with bat

After both suffering defeats in their first game of the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League, Guyana Amazon Warriors faced off with Central Stags at Guyana National Stadium, Providence, with the home side chalking up their first win by an emphatic 66 runs.

Stags captain Tom Bruce won the toss and inserted the home side, but despite early success it wasn’t long before he may have been ruing his decision.

Matthew Forde provided the early breakthrough when he had opener Johnson Charles neatly caught behind after which Blair Tickner cleaned up Moeen Ali to have the home side in early trouble. Then came the Warriors fight back with the bat.

Eventual Player-of-the-Match Rahmanullah Gurbaz anchored the innings from the top of the order for the Warriors with an impressive 58 from 47 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.

A partnership of 84 runs between Gurbaz and Jewel Andrew proved the decisive one of the match.

Andrew, the 18-year-old West Indian batter- of whom none other than Shai Hope recently said “The world will be amazed by his talent”- struck a classy 45 off just 29 balls before a being run out by Forde.

A total of 158-6 for the Warriors felt like a par total, but with only three Stags players reaching double figures in a stuttering innings that saw wickets fall regularly, it turned out to be more than enough to get the home side their first victory of the tournament.

Veteran South African spinner Imran Tahir was the pick of the Warriors bowlers with 4-23, but it was a team performance with ball in hand as Dwaine Pretorious impressed with 3-18 and David Wiese chipped in with 2-13.

They rattled through the Stags batting card and consign them to 92 all out and a hefty defeat that sent them to the root of the table and the Warriors to the top as the GSL gets into full swing. (GSL)