Guyana Amazon Warriors will have their fifth shot to win their first Caribbean Premier League Title when they battle Barbados Tridents in the final today at the Brian Lara Stadium from 17.00 hours.
Tridents, who defeated Warriors to lift the title back in 2014 have clicked at the right time in their campaign but have not beaten the Warriors this season despite three attempts.
In the group stages, Warriors, who are on a winning streak of 11 wins, defeated Tridents by 47 and 12 runs respectively while handing them a 30-run loss in the first qualifier.
Tridents will still be haunted from the brutal assault they faced at the hands of Brandon King who made the highest score in CPL history, an unbeaten 132 to book his team’s spot in the final. He also scored 51 and one in the other two encounters. King’s season has seen him scoring 453 runs at a strike rate of over 150. He has also smashed the most sixes so far, 31.
Meanwhile, his opening partner, Chandrapaul Hemraj has given Warriors positive starts with scores of 20, 27 and 63. The left-handed batsman sits in the top 10 leading run getters with 298 runs.
Together the pair has been the most promising opening duo with five half century stands this season and averaged 36 for the opening partnership, the highest among the six franchises.
It is this foundation that has allowed Warriors to press on to massive totals and effortlessly chase down targets.
Their middle order is composed with their captain, Shoaib Malik leading from the front in their undefeated campaign.
Malik has stabilized the middle order consistently. With an average of over 78, the captain has scored 313 runs and unbeaten in seven of his 11 innings.
Meanwhile, their bowlers have done the job to keep the opposition in check.
Leading the way is 40-year-old leg spinner, Imran Tahir who has taken 15 wickets at a remarkable economy rate of under six.
But it is the compliment of bowlers that has made the Warriors a threat to any opposition.
Off spinner, Chris Green has bagged 13 wickets at an economy rate of 6.2 while seamers, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul have taken 12 and 10 wickets respectively.
At the press conference prior to the final, the captain said the team was in good spirits and plays each match as a final, acknowledging the collective efforts and brotherhood of the team in the face of wearing the “chokers tag.”
“I guess we are all professionals and we have the responsibility of giving our best shot
no matter what game you are playing, every game is like a final, that is how we have played and it is just how you prepare yourself,” Malik said. The former Trident also acknowledged the good cricket that Barbados has played and congratulated them on reaching the final while wishing them the best.
Trident’s captain, Jason Holder shared similar sentiments on the Warriors performance thus far. Holder’s side, like the Warriors have gotten off to decent starts mainly due to the exploits of Johnson Charles at the top of the order.
Charles has smashed three half centuries and chalked up 376 runs so far but has been uncharacteristically slow with a strike rate of 136.
Holder noted that the team has clicked at the right time and will treat the final as any other match despite the magnitude.
“The campaign has been good, we had some really good success at the back end one game left, it’s just for us to go out and play the game not focusing on the final and the magnitude,” he said.
Key among the Trident’s success is Jean-Paul Duminy who has scored 291 runs at a strike rate of 136 but after suffering an injury in their last match, the captain believes it doesn’t look good for him.
Ashley Nurse has been doing more damage with the bat than ball so far and has proved vital in the team’s back end of an innings where he clocked in 169 runs at a strike rate of 144.
The bowling department has also done well with leg spinner, Hayden Walsh Jr. leading the charts with 21 scalps. He is well supported by the skipper himself with 14 wickets and Harry Gurney with 11 wickets as well as Raymon Reifer with 10 scalps.
