Botha “still very confident” that Warriors would make ‘semis’

By Jemima Holmes

With a demanding week ahead and three more games to go for the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) before the Hero Caribbean Premier League semifinals, the Warriors’ Head Coach Johan Botha is very assured of the team’s ability to qualify for the final four.
Head Coach Botha shared his thoughts on the team’s performances during a virtual press conference on Monday morning. He said he and the team are “still very confident” about their chances of qualifying and making it to the 2020 final of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament.
“We’re still very confident. I think yesterday (Sunday) was very crucial; we needed that, we needed to stay in contact with the top four. I think tomorrow (today) is a big one. Barbados is right there with us in a similar position. We obviously respect them as a team, we know they have some very good players within their team, so I think the next two games against them is definitely going to be crucial,” Botha posited.
What will be crucial for the Warriors is to pick up wins in their three remaining games: against the defending champions Barbados Tridents and the St Lucia Zouks.
Botha touched on this fact, noting that the Warriors would need to build on their momentum from the previous game, and declaring that even two wins would suffice for the local franchise.
“I think we’ve got to win at least two out of the next three. I think, talking about the Tridents, they were in a similar position last year this time, and they navigated through that phase and obviously went on to win the tournament. So, we’re obviously hoping to get a bit of momentum late (in the) tournament,” he stated.
Continuing, he said, “We haven’t, to be honest, played at our best. Yesterday (Sunday) was a good start. Hopefully – and with three games in three days – hopefully we could get some momentum tomorrow (today) and then carry it for the next two days.”
Going into their back-to- back games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Warriors’ batting lineup will be is focus for the coaching staff and fans, as the Warriors struggled to find their rhythm before Sunday, when Nicholas Pooran slammed his maiden T20 century.
Botha admitted that this area was one of concern for him, especially having tail enders coming in the 15th and 16th overs. However, his disposition is still positive about the batting lineup.
“It’s good to see the spinners dominate, but yeah, the wickets have been a bit tough, and probably adding not a lot of game time coming in to it all…but I still think if we play our game plan to our best, we should make enough runs; we just haven’t done that. We’ve lost early wickets, that’s something we didn’t do last year,” Head Coach Botha explained.
On the other hand, the former Australian-South African cricketer-turned- coach was happy with the bowling department, which has remained consistent throughout the tournament.
“Very happy with our bowling group. I think the guys have really shown our spirit as a team in the field. Everyone has really been committed in the field, the bowling unit has bowled well. When we have gone for a big-ish over, someone on the other side has pulled it back nicely; so that’s something we’ve really focused on, to bowl partnerships. But in saying that the wickets have assisted the bowlers, the guys have delivered what we’ve asked of them,”
On the topic of individual performances, Botha posited that Nicholas Pooran’s ton on Sunday was long in the making, owing to his quality performances over the years for the Warriors.
“He wants to be one of the best players, not only in the CPL, but in the world. I think that’s sort of his drive at the moment. He’s a young man with a lot of responsibilities. He showed a couple of glimpses before yesterday, played a couple of good knocks,” Botha commented.
Asked about the new additions to the squad in Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Sinclair, who both had spectacular debuts, Botha answered, “Our two young players are both spinners, and, at the moment, obviously the wicket has helped us with that.”
Both continued, “Ashmead, he’s just bowled really well straight up. The guys have helped him settle in very well. He was with the squad last year, not an official member, but he was in Guyana and trained with us, so I think that made him feel a lot more comfortable.”
“Kevin, what a character. He’s got a lot of energy; he was great yesterday. I’m so happy for him that he got a really good start in his CPL career, and he’s been a guy on the bench (who) has had energy straight through, doing everything that’s asked of him; and hopefully he can put in a couple more good performances for us,” Botha answered regarding Sinclair.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors will play their 8th game today, September 1, against the Barbados Tridents. They will have back-to-back games all week, facing the St. Lucia Zouks and the Tridents again on September 2 and 3.