Republic Bank CPL: Rain forces Amazon Warriors out of automatic final berth

Another interruption of sorts plagued the Guyana National Stadium on Wednesday night, this time disenfranchising the hosts in Qualifier 1 of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024. Unlike Tuesday’s events, Wednesday’s misfortunes could only be chalked up to Mother Nature but in the end, the League’s defending champions found themselves 15 runs short and missed out on an opportunity to go straight to the CPL final on Sunday.

Likely taking a page out of Trinbago Knight Riders’ book from last Sunday, St Lucia Kings Captain Faf du Plessis opted to have a go with the bat first and, together with his fellow opener Johnson Charles, got off to a flier, much to the dismay of the thousands of fans at the National Stadium.
Again, Gudakesh Motie took the ball first and had support from Dwaine Pretorius in the following rotation. However, no amount of variations could stop the Kings’ opening pair, who struck in excess of 10 per over, from the very first one.

The beginning of Romario Shepherd’s first over appeared to be the solution that the Amazon Warriors sought after, serving up three dot balls initially. However, Charles smashed a hat-trick of boundaries off the remaining deliveries to ensure the Kings continued to strike in excess of 10 an over.
Warriors Captain Imran Tahir introduced himself into the bowling attack early and was able to pull the runs back, conceding a tidy six. Tahir’s good work was quickly undone, however, as du Plessis and Charles continued to move apace, taking Pretorius for 17 runs in the next over.
By the 10th over, the St Lucia Kings were cruising at 115 without loss. A word from the dressing room of the defending champions seemed to have done them good, as they looked a much more enthusiastic outfit following the drinks break.

Then, the breakthrough finally came in the 12th over bowled by Moeen Ali. The England native teased Charles with a wide-ish delivery which he launched into the sky at long on. After taking a while to settle under the ball, Keemo Paul took the catch, to send sighs of relief throughout the Providence Stadium. Charles departed for a well-played 79 from 45 balls.
After Charles went his merry way, du Plessis went into the driver’s seat reaching his half-century in no time. However, du Plessis’s entertainment did not last much longer as Shamar Joseph made the St Lucia Captain his victim after a brilliant catch from Rahmanullah Gurbaz just inside the boundary.
Ali struck again not too long after, sending Tim Seifert back to the dugout for 18, but there was no stopping the constant flow of runs. The Kings eventually ended their innings on 198-5, compliments of a late double strike from Pretorius and a rosy final over from Shepherd, which only leaked eight runs.

Again, the Amazon Warriors opted for a new opening pair, this time featuring Gurbaz and o Paul. Paul was up to the task, finding the boundary twice, but soaked up a lot of deliveries in his brief 14 from 15 balls. Both Gurbaz and Shai Hope, though showing glimpses of what they could do, also had brief stays for 24 and 27 runs respectively and when Pretorius could only produce two runs after being promoted up the order, concern began to show in the faces of the Warriors’ fans.
Unlike his teammates, Shimron Hetmyer had a fearless approach to the chase, dispatching both Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase into the stands on multiple occasions, to give the run-rate a much-needed boost.
However, when a lingering cloud which had been teasing an interruption for a few overs finally broke, the Amazon Warriors were still 15 runs behind the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) par score, with just 106-4 in 13 overs.
What began as a slight drizzle began to bucket down on the National Stadium as patrons rushed to escape the torrent; adding more worries to the Amazon Warriors.
The rain continued for another 45 minutes or so as Warriors Nation split between revelling in the rain or seeking refuge under any available shelter. In the end and even as the rain eased and the super sipper began its work; around 23:05h, the teams were seen shaking hands, an indication of the game’s end.
A few minutes later, the official word came, the Guyana Amazon Warriors were 15 runs short and would need to return on Friday for their second shot at the final against the Barbados Royals.