– Amazon Warriors beat Tallawahs by whopping 71 runs
Shimron Hetmyer’s magnificent form with the bat continues in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a match winning maiden T20 century that gave the Guyana Amazon Warriors a table topping win over the Jamaica Talalwahs at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale Florida on Saturday night.
Shimron Hetmyer
In just his fifth T20 match, Hetmyer was brilliant from the moment he walked to the crease after the crowd favourite, Guyana Amazon Warriors lost an early wicket in match 10 as the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ reaches North America for the third straight season.
In fact, Hetmyer was ready for battle from as early as the second ball of the second over after opener Chadwick Walton was given out LBW to Samuel Badree, who got his first game of the season at the expense of Steven Jacobs.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have displaced the Jamaica Tallawahs with a clinical performance at the Central Broward Regional Park on Saturday night
He featured on two partnerships on his way to his maiden T20 century. First, he dominated a 41-second wicket partnership with Luke Ronchi who once again failed to get going.
It was another occasion that Walton and Ronchi exposed the middle order early this time scoring just 13 runs for the opening wicket to follow 9, 54 and 10 scored in the earlier matches but yet again, Hetmyer was in a league of his own.
Ronchi became Andre Russell’s first victim in his first over and the final of the power play before what was seen as the partnership of the match.
The crowd came out at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale Florida in full support for the Amazon Warriors
Hetmyer and Captain Shoaib Malik then scored 108 runs for the third wicket from just 8.4 overs that set the Warriors on course for the seventh 200-plus score of CPL 2018 ending on 209 for 7.
At the halfway stage, the Warriors were 110 for 2 with Hetmyer and Malik hitting boundaries at will and the hosts searching for answers. However, the assault continued until the 15th over when the Tallawahs hit back with the dismissal of the young Berbician for exactly 100 from 49 balls.
Imran Tahir made the Tallawahs very uncomfortable with superb bowling that gave the Warriors two points
Along the way, the 21-year old Hetmyer became the youngest of seven centurions in the history of CPL and the third of the season behind Andre Russell with 141 versus Trinbago Knight Riders and Kieron Pollard 104 against Barbados Tridents.
The former Windies U-19 winning captain got to the land mark from 47 balls with 11 fours and five sixes which is also the third fastest in CPL century. Russell holds numbers one and two spots with 40 and 44-ball efforts.
When he holed out in the 15th over, the Warriors were in a commanding position with Malik still going strong. However, the Tallawahs sneaked back into the contest with five quick Warriors wickets for 34 runs in 4.5 overs including Malik who made an even half century to join Hetmyer as the only batsmen to get out of single digits.
Badree who got the early wicket also got some stick and with fellow spinner Imad Wasim, they conceded 72 runs from just six overs. The seamers also received some rough treatment on the good track but were more successful with Oshane Thomas, Andre Russell and Krishmar Santokie taking two wickets each.
In the field, the Warriors were tested by the Tallawahs top order but after David Miller and Glenn Phillips were dismissed in the 11th over bowled by Imran Tahir it all went downhill for the former champions. First, Miller who was playing his first game of the season after international assignments was run out from a Tahir direct hit after backing up too far at the non-strikers end and Phillips followed next ball when he played back to a googly.
It was the beginning of the end as the rest of the Tallawahs batting fell like nine pins in quick succession. In fact, the home team lost their last eight wickets for 36 runs in 36 balls when they moved from 102 for 2 in the 11th over to 138 all out in 16.2 overs.
At the half-way stage of the run chase, the Tallawahs were in a comfortable position at 101 for 2 with Phillips on a solid 43 from 27 balls and Miller on 10 after Kennar Lewis and Ross Taylor were fluent in their brief innings respectively.
Tahir ended with two wickets but it was off-spinner Chris Green with 2.19 from his four overs who strangled the Tallawahs after Keemo Paul, Rayad Emrit and Devendra Bishoo were taken to the cleaners early but came back well.
With the 71-run win, the Warriors are now back on top of the points table while the Tallawahs have slipped to second position heading into tonight’s clash with third placed Trinbago Knight Riders at the same venue from 18:00h.
Hetmyer was named Man of the Match and is now the second leading batsman with 222 runs from four games behind Kieron Pollard with 239 runs from five games.
The Amazon Warriors next match is against the St Lucia Stars in Match 15 on Friday August 24 at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.
