The Guyana Amazon Warriors will tackle the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots today from 14.30 hours for a chance to make it to their sixth final of the Caribbean Premier League tomorrow.
Both teams had mixed fortunes leading up to this point with Patriots beating Warriors twice at the start of the competition but faded away towards the business end of the tournament with four losses in five matches.
Warriors, on the other hand, was on the verge of elimination but rocketed to second place in the points table after winning their last three matches.
Skipper, Nicholas Pooran has admitted that the side has been inconsistent but luckily, someone within the XI has always been able to put their hands up and take the proverbial bull by the horn.
Warriors have been able to instigate a turn in fortunes on the back of exemplary bowling efforts from their local seamers, Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith.
Shepherd, 26, sits comfortably at the top of the tree in the bowling column with 18 wickets at an impressive average of 14 and an economy rate of 7.26. However, it is his death bowling achievements that has given Warriors the edge.
The right-arm quick has been well supported by Smith who has turned a new chapter this season, consistently clocking over 140 Kmh. The burly bowler is third on the table with 16 wickets and averages 13.75 while going at an economy rate of 6.98.
The duo has led from the front while the traditional spin unit has complemented well. Leg-spinner, Imran Tahir, continues to be the undoing of teams with 13 wickets, mostly within the powerplay overs to set teams on the backfoot early.
Left-arm spinner, Gudakesh Motie, in his first season, has shown he is ready for the big stage and followed up his domination in the Regional Super50 with another good tournament outing. So far, he has returned eight wickets with an economy rate of 6.52 from six matches.
Warriors’ success has been their variety in their ability to call on different bowlers owing to the advantage of having top order batsmen, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez to bowl off-spin and Chandrapaul Hemraj to chip in with his left-arm spin.
However, Warriors will be without the services of Hafeez who has to return to Pakistan in preparation for the T20 World Cup. Hafeez has been their most economical bowler, going at 5.6 and has picked up five wickets from seven innings. With the bat, Hafeez has also been impactful with 179 runs. With this blow, Warriors will be forced to play a maximum of three overseas players. Also, with no batsmen on the bench, Warriors’ weak point will be affected further.
Pooran admitted that the team will miss the services of Hafeez but was cognizant that certain things are beyond their control.
So far, Pooran has been consistent with 237 runs coming in nine innings at a strike rate of 161 while Hemraj has amassed 227 runs in 10 innings despite scoring 105 not out in a single match.
Hemraj’s regular opening partner, Brandon King is yet to find his mojo with 162 runs in 10 innings and a best of 77 and a strike rate of 119.
Shimron Hetmyer started well with two half centuries but has only managed 36 runs in his last five innings.
Malik as well has not come to the ‘Biggest Party in Sport,’ scoring a paltry 61 in nine innings at an uncharacteristically low strike rate of 59.8.
Fortunately for Warriors, Shepherd showcased his dynamic abilities that powered them into the semis with an unbeaten 72 while his strike rate of 168 reflects what Warriors need at the lower order.
Warriors will need their entire unit to fire if they are going to compete with the batting brutality of Evin Lewis and company.
Lewis has chalked up 343 runs so far with a century and two fifties under his belt. His strike rate of 158.79 is also considerably higher than most but he is not alone. Sherfane Rutherford started the tournament with a bang, scoring 226 runs in eight innings, highlighted by three half centuries while Devon Thomas has tallied 196 runs from nine innings.
Patriots will find it worrying that the likes of Chris Gayle and Fabien Allen are not in the best of form while Jonathan Carter and Joshua Da Silva have limited time at the crease.
Skipper, Dwayne Bravo expressed that the team had set their sights on breaking into the semis which they did and now will start a fresh slate. The captain, however, pointed out that there is nothing to tell Gayle, labeling him as the “best player in the world” adding that Gayle is the one who passes on words of wisdom to the team.
Nevertheless, their bowlers have backed them up well, particularly Dominic Drakes with 13 wickets at an average of 20.46. He is supported by Paul Van Meekerden, Bravo and Allen with eight wickets apiece. Fawad Ahmed has bagged seven wickets while Jon Ross Jaggesar and Sheldon Cottrell have taken six wickets each.
Bravo reasoned that it was good to have all the players chipping in at some point in the tournament especially since it was jampacked into a short space of time but now it was all up to each player to come and give their best.
