Determined Warriors return home focused on winning

…we have to play consistent cricket – Harper

By Akeem Greene

The Guyana Amazon Warriors returned home Monday afternoon to a joyful welcome at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston after securing their first win in the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
The Warriors defeated host St Lucia Stars by six wickets on Sunday evening.
It was their first win in four matches and after the smiles and congratulatory handshakes were given, Head coach Roger Harper addressed the media and emphasised the point that the team needs to play more consistent cricket.
“We have to play consistent cricket. We have to play smart cricket and utilise the knowledge of the conditions at home as best as possible”, he firmly declared.
While the bowling has been commendable, the batting of the three-time finalist in the five years of the league has been quite in-consistent with some of the top batsmen getting starts but failing to convert into match defining innings.
Harper acknowledged this a concern. “Collectively we have not clicked with the batting. It has gotten better with each game and we hope to build on it and to play like how we know we can play”.
He further contended that “it has been a tough start. We had a few close games and they were games that the Warriors would usually manage to pull off. We made a few errors and we ended up on the wrong end but I think coming back to Guyana with a win is great. We can use the momentum and build on it and get into the flow of playing Warriors’ cricket,” Harper added.
Commenting on the possibility of losing the service of the Pakistani duo of Sohail Tanveer and Babar Azam due to the Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) recalling their players for National duty preparation, the coach disclosed the team management is fully aware and will be making a decision soon on the matter.
The successful coach was in high praise of local Gajanand Singh who has played two crucial knocks for the team, one resulting in them winning their first match. In his first game he grafted 28 before falling in a close finish against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Florida then stroked 35 not out against Stars.
“He played well in Florida and yesterday [Sunday] played a brilliant innings to lead us home and we hope he continues to build on it”, the coach stated.
Warriors’ first home match at the National Stadium Providence will be on Thursday against the Jamaica Tallawahs from `18:00 hrs. They will then clash with Trinbago Knight Riders from 12 noon on Saturday followed by Barbados Tridents on Sunday from 18:00 hrs. Their final match will be against Stars on Tuesday from 18:00 hrs.

Fans can purchase their tickets between 08:30h and 18:00h Monday to Friday and 09:00h to 13:00h on Saturday and Sunday. Corporate companies/ organizations wishing to purchase tickets can contact the ticketing office at Ticketing Office and Merchandise Store, located at 238 Camp and Quamina Streets, Georgetown for further details on how to do so.
The costs per ticket for this year’s CPL games are as follows: RED AND GREEN STANDS, Gy$5,000; ORANGE STAND, Gy$3,000; GRASS MOUND, Gy$2,500.
Car passes for inside the stadium are being sold for $1500, while car passes for parking between the stadium and the Ramada Princess Hotel cost $500 each.
Guyana Amazon Warriors Squad: Martin Guptill (captain), Rayad Emrit, Sohail Tanveer, Chadwick Walton, Babar Azam, Rashid Khan, Jason Mohammed, Steven Taylor, Veerasammy Permaul, Roshon Primus, Gajanand Singh, Assad Fudadin, Steven Jacobs, Keon Joseph, Steven Katwaroo, Keemo Paul, Muhammad Ali Khan.