Warriors fans remain loyal
─ despite CPL crown not coming home
DPI, Guyana, Sunday, October 13, 2019
Guyanese fans are steadfast in their support of the Amazon Warriors despite their fifth attempt to bring home the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 cricket title not panning out.
All seemed great for the Warriors who were on an unprecedented run in the CPL tournament having won 11 games from 11 matches; punishing each team they faced. However, the Warriors who seemed invincible, stopped short of making it 12 wins in 12 games, going down to the Barbados Tridents by 27 runs.
Nevertheless, the thousands of Guyanese who gathered at the D’Urban Park to witness the finals remain loyal to the Warriors through thick and thin.
At the end of the match, Fiona Smith, a true Warriors fan was waving the Golden Arrow Head proudly celebrating Guyana’s remarkable feat in the CPL. “I think the Warriors did well. What they did is commendable. Eleven out of 11 is just great and I am proud of them and I am happy,” Smith stated.
Carla Bentham, who was out at the D’Urban Park with her friends and family, echoed similar sentiments. “We are proud to be Guyanese; win or lose we are still Guyanese,” Bentham said.
Even though the Warriors were down, the spirits of the fans remained high and many are looking forward to seeing them perform again next year and possibly clinch the CPL title. “Win or lose, I still love my team, Warriors all the time,” said Roy Austin, another elated Warriors fan.
The Tridents, who won the toss and elected to bat first, posted a sizable total of 171 runs from their allotted 20 overs. The team got off to a shaky start in their innings. However, it was slowed down a bit in the middle overs and when Ashley Nurse and Jonathan Carter struck 63 runs off the last 31 balls towards the end, that proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Warriors.
Chasing the mammoth total, Murphy’s law of ‘whatever can go wrong, will go wrong’ kicked into play. Star batsman Chanderpaul Hemraj suffered an injury in the first over in the Warriors innings and lost his wicket soon after for just a run. Shimron Hetmyer and Shoaib Malik also failed to score double figures losing their wickets cheaply.
Brandon King, who punished the Tridents to send the Warriors to the finals, topped scored with 43 runs but it proved not to be enough to take the Warriors over the finish line.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors remain the most consistent team in the CPL having made five appearances in the finals. However, come next year, they will be looking to add the CPL title to their list of accomplishments.