… fans must be grateful of team’s effort
By Delvon Mcewan
The Guyana Amazon Warriors showing at the recently concluded Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) possessed quality up until the final where they lost by nine wickets to the Jamaica Tallawahs. It was definitely the team’s worst performance of the 11 matches they played in this year’s tournament. Due to this performance, the question is who or what is to be blamed?
It is difficult to solely blame an individual for poor showing by a team in a sport while on the other hand, it is unjust to say an individual is solely responsible for success in a team sport. Although an individual might be the difference between sides in a team sport, that person by no means as an individual could win against an entire team. Therefore, on that note, I will identify some of the errors made by the Warriors team from the player’s draft through to the finals.
Even the Warriors Captain, Rayad Emrit, made mention at the finals post-match presentation of his team’s composition, saying they were not the best unit entering the tournament. At least on paper they were not. But they silenced the doubters and executed well to reach the finals. An area the officials led by coach Roger Harper and the team itself should take praise for.
At the auction, Guyana drafted Martin Guptill of New Zealand, Australians Chris Lynn and Adam Zamba, as well as Pakistani all-rounder Sohail Tanvir and Muhammad Ahsan Ali Khan of the USA as the country’s overseas representatives. Of those selected, the fans and most local pundits of cricket were only satisfied with the return of Guptill to the team. The drafting of all the others were questioned. Little was known about Lynn, Zampa and Khan while Tanvir was deemed as a ‘washed out’ cricketer.
Besides the negatives surrounding four of the overseas players, there were also concerns over the selection of Regional players like Jason Mohamed, Assad Fudadin, Orlando Peters and Steven katwaroo. Like Lynn, Zampa and Khan, little were known of Peters and Katwaroo here, and Fudadin and Mohamed are not known for any T20 attributes. At least it was the case with Mohamed, who showed that he is capable of playing all three formats at the professional level. In general, most of the team – especially the batting department – seemed very fragile prior to the tournament.
Nevertheless the Warriors were off to a great start winning four of their five matches by the half way stage of the first round. But even in the midst of their victories there were signs of a feeble batting lineup particularly in the middle and lower order. This was shown from as early as their first match against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
In that encounter, the Guyanese bowlers restricted the Patriots to 164-9 in 20 overs, off to a flying start in their reply as openers Dwayne Smith and Guptill took the score to 62 for the loss of the first wicket at the end of the sixth over, leaving a deficit of 103 runs to get in 14 overs with nine wickets remaining. However, they lost five more wickets and took 13.5 of the remaining 14 overs to reach the target. Thanks to Mohamed, who made 42 not out from 29 deliveries, they were able to cross the line.
As the tournament progressed it was Lynn, who finished as the tournament’s leading scorer, Mohamed along with Dwayne Smith and Guptill, who contributed in most, if not all, of the Warriors victories.
Meanwhile, in the bowling department, the quintet attack of Tanvir, Rayad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Zampa and Steven Jacobs showed its worth. Like Lynn and Mohamed surprised with the bat, it was two of the questionable bowlers, Tanvir and Zampa, who spearheaded the Warriors bowling attack.
Apart from Lynn and Mohamed with the bat and Zampa and Tanvir with the ball along with Smith, Emrit and Jacobs, who chipped in periodically in either the bowling or batting division, no one else made any significant contribution. Neither was the bench strong enough to make changes.
Arguably the best T20 player locally, Christopher Barnwell was the Warriors biggest disappointment in a tournament where everything went wrong for him. Known for his aggressive approach, Barnwell failed to live up to expectation as he scored a mere 68 runs from nine innings with his highest score being 16 not out.
Wicket-keeper batsman Anthony Bramble looked good at the initial stages but fell away in the latter part. The remainder of the lower order was inconsistent with scoring and strike rates, thus rendering themselves unable to give Guyana big scores.
Another issue was the choice to replace the Warriors’ original skipper Guptill, who had to depart for Test duties. They opted for Australian opener Nic Maddinson. That was another surprising decision by team officials, since it was clear that Barnwell was out of form and the team needed either a big hitting middle or lower order batsman or a big hitting all-rounder.
While either Assad Fudadin, who averages 27.50 from nine T20 matches or emerging talent Shimron Hetmyer could have opened the batting alongside Smith. However, that was not the case and Maddinson failed to impress in five games as he scored one 50 and finished with just 82 runs.
Some may say the Warriors saved its worst performance for last but in my view, their weakness was exposed in the final match where Jamaica won the toss, opted to bowl, got rid of the top order early then wrecked the middle and lower order. However the fans must appreciate the effort of a team that laboured throughout but unfortunately capitulated in the grand finale.
In addition, there is/are no specific player/s that can be blamed for Guyana’s failure to win a first title after three appearances in the finals. However, a better balanced team could have probably been a bigger challenge for the Tallawahs.
