Team will be going all out for a top two finish in the league stage
By Michaelangelo Jacobus
After back-to-back wins on home soil sealed a top four finish and a playoff berth for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the team will now focus on winning their remaining three games in a bid to secure a top two finish in the league stage of the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Stabroek Sport caught up with the GAW Team Manager Leon Johnson who touched on the return of Afghanistan opening batsman Ramanullah Gurbaz, which he contends will solve the issue of a concrete opening pair for the team, and the team’s push for a top two finish which will give the team two chances to get to the final.
Quizzed on the feeling in the camp, Johnson revealed; “The mood in the camp has been good throughout the season, continues to be good, especially after back-to-back wins. We had two difficult losses in the preceding games against the Royals and the Knight Riders. To come here and win two games, especially on a tricky surface, being able to defend what I would say are par scores, for that kind of surface, to be able to defend them well, it bodes well for the team psyche”.
Warriors Team Manager, Leon Johnson
Looking at the possibility of a top two finish which means Guyana will have to win their remaining games against Barbados Royals, St. Lucia Kings and the Trinbago Knightriders; Johnson said “It’s important to finish in the top two, looking at the table, it’s going to be a tight race coming down to the end, the top four teams have already qualified but now teams will be pushing to finish in that top two position and all four of the teams have to play each other in the coming days, so I think one advantage that we have is that all of our games are at home. We have been very good at home, playing well, good support, we have always been good at home, so I think that is one thing in our favour, a small advantage”.
“Definitely we will be going all out to finish in that top two. We have been strengthened a bit with Ramanullah Gurbaz coming back into the squad and that would solve one of the problems, one of the issues with openers”, he noted. The Guyana franchise has tried at least four different opening combinations with limited success.
Reflecting on the season thus far, Johnson opined; “I think the season has gone pretty good for us thus far, I don’t think we have hit top gear as yet but we are getting there soon, you always want to be peaking at the right time, back end of the tournament, last couple of games at home, qualifiers and final, hopefully we are peaking”. While the Amazon Warriors went three games unbeaten at the start of the tournament, they suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Royals and the Knightriders, however, Johnson, former captain of the Guyana National team, was keen to look at the silver lining of wins on the road.
“I think it’s been good, we managed to get three wins on the road which is very vital for us and I think that will go a long way in where we finish in the campaign in terms of the league stages. Like I said, getting in the top two, so those wins on the road were very important for us”.
While the Warriors have been clinical at the Providence National Stadium, Johnson issued a call for the continued support of the fans.
“Now the fans, they can expect good cricket. We are going to plan well and play good cricket, once we execute they will see good cricket and they just need to be there, supporting us and we will give them good cricket” He said.
The Warriors, defending champions of the CPL, will face Barbados Royals tomorrow from 7 pm before clashing with the St. Lucia Kings on Saturday from 10 am. Meanwhile, they will wrap up their league stage campaign with the biggest fixture of the CPL, against eternal rivals the Trinbago Knightriders on Sunday from 7PM.
