Guyana Amazon Warriors all-rounder Steven Jacobs believes the team which makes the least mistakes this year will be crowned champions of the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (HCPL) T20 tournament which bowls off in a few weeks.
The off-spinner told Stabroek Sport yesterday that his team’s chances are like that of any other in the competition adding that the most composed unit could likely go all the way.
“My team’s chances are like any other team in the competition, the team which makes the least mistakes and capitalizes on opportunities will win the tournament,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs, who has been with the local franchise for two seasons, said that while he has been around the Warriors camp for some time, this season he hopes to play bigger roles on the field once given the chance.
“I have been with the Amazon Warriors for two years without a lot of games to my name, so I need to firstly get myself into the 11 on a regular basis and try to produce some good performances to take my team over the line,” he said.
Coming off a good Regional season with a total of 29 wickets from both the Four-Day and One-Day formats, the 27-year-old said he was keen on carrying on his good form especially in the limited overs competitions.
“I had a decent List A and First-Class season with the ball but I also had some good scores at some crucial times for my team (Guyana Jaguars), so I’m looking forward to doing the same with the Warriors,” he said.
Speaking of the team’s new skipper, New Zealand batsman, Martin Guptill as well as the new look of the team, Jacobs said he was happy to have the in-form opener as Captain adding that while he seemed equally confident that with such a huge amount of Caribbean stars in the side, utilizing that amount of experience could be exactly what the two-time finalists need to succeed this year.
“I think the Warriors are a team with a lot of Caribbean experience so hopefully that works to our benefit. Guptill is a great cricketer and he is actually my favorite cricketer right now and I know he has what it takes to lead a team and I wish him well when the job starts,” he said.
While Jacobs said that he has not yet identified any of the specific overseas players to work with when the tournament starts, he was more than certain that all of his teammates will be keen on sharing their knowledge and experience with each other.
Jacobs and some of his Amazon Warriors teammates are currently involved in the Guyana Jaguars ongoing weekly training sessions which will further help to maximise the players’ condition ahead of their camp which will be fully in operation when all their players arrive in the weeks to come. The Amazon Warriors open the tournament on June 30 again the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in Basseterre, St Kitts.
