By Brandon Corlette
The Guyana Amazon Warriors men’s team will be in action on Sunday, September 10, against the Barbados Royals in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League 2023. That match will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad from 10:00h Eastern Caribbean Time.
Warriors are atop the points table with four wins, and are the only unbeaten team in this CPL season. Their most memorable win has been against the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), whom they outplayed in their backyard at Queen’s Park Oval.
Captain Imran Tahir was delighted with that victory, and has described Shai Hope as the best player in the world. Tahir also spoke highly of 21-year-old Pakistani opener Saim Ayub.
“Really happy to be on the winning side. The boys played really good. The plan we had to bowl, I was pleased with that. I had no doubt that if we want to improve ourselves from the previous games, we wanted our openers to do a better job, and they did against TKR.” He revealed.
“Ayub is a talented kid, that is why we got him. I have seen him play before. They got the freedom how they want to play, but sometimes you have to take responsibility and learn the game quite quickly. He did really well, and he has been getting 30s and 40s. It was nice to see him get some big runs,” Tahir said.
The Warriors skipper added: “Shai is the best player at the time in World Cricket. So he showed why he is the best player in the world (with his innings against TKR).”
Warriors’ next opponent, the Barbados Royals, have been inconsistent this season, recording three wins and four defeats in eight matches. Rahkeen Cornwall has been the Royals’ dangerman, having scored a century in Barbados; while Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell and Alick Athanaze are dangerous men with the bat.
Jason Holder is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets, and he will be a key player for the Royals. Warriors’ leading batsman is Saim Ayub, who has scored 145 runs. Shai Hope has 143 runs. Gudakesh Motie has seven wickets, leading the Warriors’ bowling charts this season.
Barbados Royals Squad: Kyle Mayers, Rahkeem Cornwall, Laurie Evans, Rovman Powell(c), Alick Athanaze, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite, Nyeem Young, Rivaldo Clarke(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Qais Ahmad, Justin Greaves, Obed McCoy, Akeem Jordan, Joshua Bishop, Ramon Simmonds, Kevin Wickham.
Guyana Amazon Warriors squad: Saim Ayub; Chandrapaul Hemraj; Azam Khan(w); Shai Hope; Shimron Hetmyer; Dwaine Pretorius; Keemo Paul; Romario Shepherd; Odean Smith; Imran Tahir(c); Gudakesh Motie; Matthew Nandu; Hazratullah Zazai; Kelvon Anderson; Kevin Sinclair; Junior Sinclair and Ronsford Beaton.