Republic Bank CPL: Hetmyer, Joseph guide Warriors to victory in low-scoring thriller

After facing back-to-back losses, the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League’s (CPL) defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors have scripted a brilliant, heart-thumping victory against the struggling St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at home at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Admittedly, there were numerous moments where it looked like the Guyana Amazon Warriors would begin their home leg on a disappointing note, but a spectacular batting performance from Shimron Hetmyer and even better bowling performances from the bowlers handed the defending champions those much-needed two points.
The hosts had a dismal start to their innings, with both openers going back to the dugout without scoring. Ashmead Nedd took good advantage of his home conditions to first trap Tim Robinson LBW with the second ball of the innings, and later rattled Kevin Sinclair’s stumps for a double strike in the first 6 balls.

Shimron Hetmyer, who got off to a flier, smashed Nedd for three sixes in the third over, but when Shai Hope tried to get in on the action in the subsequent rotation, Andre Fletcher gobbled up his attempt on the edge of the circle. The defending champions were now in hot water at 28-3.
Hetmyer sensibly took his aggression down a notch as he and Moeen Ali sought to rebuild the innings; and although he was cautious, the Berbician could not long restrain his explosive nature, as he found the boundary at regular intervals to keep pace with the requirements of the innings.
Eventually, he brought up his well-deserved half-century in the 10th over off just 26 balls.
However, his reign of terror ended just 2 overs later, when Tabraiz Shamsi produced enough malice to claim a double. Hetmyer departed for a well-played 63 off 33 balls, and so did the Warriors’ hope of a big score.

Nedd was nothing short of magical at Providence. He returned after Hetmyer’s big over off how bowling, and the Guyana native regained enough of his composure to remove another two of the Warriors’ batters. Hetmyer’s wicket being taken at that interval had completely changed the complexion of the encounter.
With wickets being taken in consecutive balls of the 15th over, the hosts again found themselves reeling for less than 100 runs.
Another Shepherd and Pretorius special ensued, but this time around, the South African departed sooner than desired, leaving the Guyanese to do the heavy lifting.
Romario Shepherd was patient up until the final over of the innings, when he dispatched Ryan John’s bowling for 24 runs to get the defending champions up to 137-8 in their 20 overs.
Nedd was the pick of the Patriots’ bowlers, taking four wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs.
Although the Warriors were not able to pick up wickets in clusters as had obtained with the Patriots, their bowling was good enough to keep their opponents behind the required run-rate in the chase.

Andre Fletcher, Mikyle Louis, Kyle Mayers and Joshua Da Silva all went cheaply, but opener Evin Lewis bothered the Amazon Warriors the most, as he stood resolute until the introduction of Shamar Joseph.
A superb throw from Joseph off his bowling found Rilee Rossouw miles short of his crease for a game-changing run-out in the 17th over. Evin Lewis was visibly disappointed by the wicket, so much so that the ferocity of his batting began to wane, resulting in his soft dismissal one over later.
Joseph continued his majestic spell in the 17th over by picking up two wickets for a meagre 1 run to further destabilize the Patriots.
At 97-8, the animated crowd at the Guyana National Stadium knew that their team was back to winning ways.
Following another six balls from Captain Tahir, Joseph returned in the 19th over to finish the game off with the wicket of Ryan John.
The Baracara native ended with 3-9 from 2.3 overs, while Moeen Ali picked up 2-9 from 4 overs. Captain Tahir also took two wickets.
With momentum on their side, the Amazon Warriors would be looking to extend their winning streak today in their contest against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in a match that would be played at the Providence venue. (G6)