THE GUYANA Amazon Warriors will square off against the struggling Barbados Royals on Tuesday at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts as the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) continues.
The Amazon Warriors are fourth in the points standings with 2020 winners Trinbago Knight Riders with six points, but an inferior net run-rate, while the Royals are at the bottom of the six-team table with two points. Both Amazon Warriors and Royals have played six games.
During an online media interview on Monday, Amazon Warriors coach Rayon Griffith said, “At the moment, everything is going really good in the camp. The players’ confidence (is) building. We got three victories (and) we lost three. Having those points is very important this time, in this competition.”
Both teams faced each other on Saturday, with the Amazon Warriors cruising to a nine-wicket victory.
But Griffith is not allowing the team to rest on their laurels. “The areas to improve are definitely understanding situations, and playing the situations,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t play the situations.”
Griffith added, “We are getting better. (Chandrapaul) Hemraj and (Brandon) King, from the last game, were impressive in terms of the opening stand. I think that’s an area that we improved also.”
Hemraj and King, on Saturday, produced an opening partnership of 103, with the left-handed Hemraj notching his first CPL century – an unbeaten 105.
[caption id="attachment_911567" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Oshane Thomas (right) of Barbados Royals celebrates the dismissal of Chris Gayle of St Kitts/Nevis Patriots during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League match 2 between Barbados Royals and St Kitts/Nevis Patriots at Warner Park Sporting Complex in Basseterre, St Kitts, on August 26. (Photo by CPL T20/Getty Images) -[/caption]
However, Brandon King has been a shadow of the batsman who forced his way into the WI white-ball squads, with 496 runs in 12 matches, at an average of 55.11. This season, he has been moved up and down the batting order, as he has only tallied 56 runs in six innings.
“He’s not having the best of tournaments but we’re going to back Brandon,” Griffith noted. “We believe that Brandon will come (good). We’ll give him some advice.”
Another player who has been going through a tough phase is off-spinner Kevin Sinclair, who made his T20 debut against Sri Lanka, in Antigua, in March. He has only played one game this season for the Amazon Warriors.
“He played the last game with both off-spinners (Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik),” the Amazon Warriors coach pointed out. “Sometimes, you’re playing different oppositions and you have different combinations you’ll like to play. It was a bit tough for him not getting in. He will get his opportunity as the tournament goes along.”
The Royals have flattered to deceive this season, having earned one win to date.
Coach Daniel Vettori acknowledged, “It’s a tough start. Like most franchise tournaments, teams look back and can see two or three games they could have easily won. It’s probably our
