An unbroken 82-run partnership between Chris Lynn and Jason Mohammed helped the Guyana Amazon Warriors gun down a target of 138 with eight wickets to spare in the final match played at Providence in the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) amidst a sellout Guyanese crowd last night.
Man-of-the-Match Mohammed, the 29-year-old Trinidadian, stroked 43 runs from 29 balls, his best T20 score, with four sixes and a four while the Australian Lynn continued his sparkling form this season, chipping in with 38 off 29 with a four and two sixes, steering the Warriors to 139-2 in just 17.2 overs.
It was another collective bowling exhibition by the Warriors who were indebted to their frontline bowlers, Sohail Tanvir, Rayad Emrit and Adam Zampa who ended with two wickets each. The Zouks batting revolved around former Australia batsman Mike Hussey who rolled back the years cracking seven lush fours during his top-score of 64 from 50 deliveries which was the basis for his team’s 138-6 in 20 overs.
The Warriors began the chase with 13 runs from the first over bowled by Davis, which featured the first six compliments of Martin Guptill (19) who continued to be aggressive from the get-go this season.
Dwayne Smith (32) got his first boundary off his Barbados countryman Kyle Mayers who failed to execute a proper slower delivery and was smashed through the covers.
Mayers would have made a terrific comeback but Sammy put down his opposite number when he made a mess of a straightforward catch at mid-off. The Zouks skipper repeated his error by dropping Guptill again, this time at backward point off the bowling of Watson, which the Warriors skipper then capitalized with a glance down to the fine-leg boundary for four.
The Zouks continued to hemorrhage boundaries and Smith continued to pick on Mayers, pummeling the seamer for boundaries, the best being the shot of the night, a cover-drive with a pose which reached the boundary in a flash.
Fifty for the home team came with a huge six over long-on as Smith muscled Deron Davis (1-31) into the Red Stand before the 23-year-old Trinidadian would bounce back with the big wicket of Guptill who pushed the ball back into the clutches of the bowler.
Lynn came out to the middle with the score 55-1 but the Warriors would lose Smith to a good catch by Watson, inches from the boundary as off-spinner Shane Shillingford (1-28) made the breakthrough. At the half-way mark, the Warriors required 64 runs with eight wickets left and both Mohammed and Lynn ensured that they found the ropes during the crucial stages. The duo picked apart the Zouks bowlers to take Guyana to another win with 16 deliveries remaining.
Earlier, Tanvir struck two serious blows to the Zouks, removing both openers Johnson Charles (00) and Australian Shane Watson (04). Andre Fletcher (16), struck a four but was trapped leg before wicket by Zampa off the second ball of his opening spell.
At 41-3 nearing the half-way mark, the overseas pair of Hussey and David Miller (23) were tasked with rebuilding the innings after the top order failed. Miller danced down the wicket to hit Zampa back over his head for the first maximum of the Zouks innings.
The 41 year-old Hussey continued to show his class, playing his trademark deft touches, nudges and his typical pull shot which he played off Emrit to reach his 50 off just 39 balls, helping St Lucia to their 100 in the 16th over.
Zampa then stole the Zouks momentum when he had Miller caught in the deep by Mohammed, breaking the 62 run partnership between the two left-handers. Emrit then gave himself a chance at a hat-trick when he had the Zouks skipper Darren Sammy (11) caught in the deep by Lynn before Hussey held out to his countryman who took another identical catch at deep long-on.
Mayers and Grant Elliott saw off the Guyanese bowlers as the ended on 2 and 5 not out respectively at the expiration of the Zouks innings.
The Warriors added two points to their eight and remain in the top spot with a total of 10 points.
Scoreboard
St Lucia Zouks innings
J Charles c Guptill b Sohail Tanvir 0
S Watson c wkp Bramble b Sohail Tanvir 4
A Fletcher lbw b Zampa 16
M Hussey c Lynn b Emrit 60
DA Miller c Mohammed b Zampa 23
D Sammy c Lynn 12
K Mayers not out 02
G Elliott not out 05
Extras (b 1, lb 9, w 2, nb 1)13
Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 138
Fall of wickets 1-0, 2-4, 3-41, 4-103, 5-129, 6-129
Bowling: Tanvir 4-0-31-2, Jacobs 4-0-20-0, Emrit 3-0-25-2, Permaul
3-0-16-0, Zampa 4-0-30-2 Mohammed 2-0-9-0
Guyana Amazon Warriors innings
D Smith c Watson b Shillingford 32
M Guptill* c & b Davis 19
C Lynn not out 38
J Mohammed not out 43
Extras (lb 6, w 1) 7
Total (2 wickets; 17.2 overs) 139
Fall of wickets 1-55, 2-57
Bowling: Davis 3-0-31-1, Watson 4-0-21-0, Mayers 2-0-17-0, Elliott
2-0-15-0, Shillingford 4-0-28-1, Ramsaran 2.2-0-21-0
