CPL

Motie bags career-best figures, as Amazon Warriors start positively; condemn Patriots to successive defeats

By Sports Desk August 24, 2023
Guyana Amazon Warrior's Gudakesh Motie (second left) celebrate a wicket with teammates during their CPL contest against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Thursday. Guyana Amazon Warrior's Gudakesh Motie (second left) celebrate a wicket with teammates during their CPL contest against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park on Thursday. CPL

Guyana Amazon Warriors got their first win of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 65-run victory against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Thursday. 

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first, but the decision backfired, as the Amazon Warriors made light of losing wickets at regular intervals, to post an exceptional 197 for 7. 

In reply, the Patriots struggled to get close to the Warriors total, being bundled over for 132 in 16.5 overs.

Evin Lewis played a quick-fire captain’s knock, but once he fell, no one else in the Patriots order was able to have a similar effect on the game.

The Amazon Warriors innings suffered an early blow when Sheldon Cottrell removed Chandrapaul Hemraj in the first over for a duck.

Though the Patriots lost two further wickets in the PowerPlay –Saim Ayub falling to Dominic Drakes and Azam Khan to Oshane Thomas –they kept the run-rate brisk, and were well positioned at 59 for 3, at the end of the initial six overs.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer maintained and, by extension, built on that momentum taking the score to 101 for 3 at the halfway stage of the innings. Hope led the way, as he raced to a half-century from a mere 26 balls.

However, the partnership was eventually broken by wrist spinner Izharulhaq Naveed, who bowled the destructive Hope for 54. That wicket was quickly followed up by the dismissal of Hetmyer for 26, as the left-hander holed out to the fielder on the deep point boundary.

Those wickets briefly took the momentum out of the innings, before Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd not only steadied the ship, but added quick runs at the backend to help the Warriors to their imposing target.

The Patriots reply never really got going as scoreboard pressure told. 

Andre Fletcher and Joshua Da Silva fell inside the PowerPlay to leave the Patriots 37 for 2 at the end of six overs.

Lewis played a fine counter-attacking innings of 48 from 24 balls to bring the required run-rate down to something more manageable, but whatever hope they had of achieving the winning target, was short lived. 

Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford fell six balls apart to leave the Patriots at 88 for 4 after 10 overs.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the remaining batsmen failed to put together any useful partnerships, as they came and went in quick succession.

Gudakesh Motie proved too hard to handle and, as such, finished with career best figures in a spell that included the wicket of Ambati Rayudu. 

The left-arm spinner ended with four wickets for 28, almost single-handedly gifting Amazon Warriors an opening victory, which would not only boost their confidence, but also set them up nicely for the remainder of the campaign.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 197-7 (Hope 54, Ayub 31; Thomas 3-38, Drakes 2-43) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 132 (Lewis 48, Rayudu 32; Motie 4-29, Tahir 2-35) by 65 runs

The Patriots will look to bounce back when they host the Barbados Royals on Saturday.

Tags
« Captain King leads Jamaica Tallawahs to resounding victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Spinners star as Kings beat Knight Riders by 54 runs »

Related items

  • RCB secures sixth win in a row to eliminate CSK and advance to playoffs RCB secures sixth win in a row to eliminate CSK and advance to playoffs

    The Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve to secure their sixth win in a row with a 27-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday to book a spot in the Indian Premier League playoffs.

    The Super Kings entered Saturday’s game in fourth place on 14 points while RCB were fifth on 12 needing to win by at least 18 runs to overtake their opponents and seal the final playoff spot.

    CSK won the toss and decided to put RCB in to bat and that decision looked like the wrong one after openers Virat Kohli and Captain Faf Du Plessis put on a quick 31 off three overs before a quick drop of rain brought a halt to proceedings.

    Play eventually started back and the pair brought the score up to 78 in the 10th over before Kohli fell for 47.

    The wicket didn’t bring much help to CSK as Du Plessis and Rajat Patidar brought the fire to the Super Kings bowlers to bring the score up to 113 in the 13th before the skipper fell for a top score of 54.

    Patidar and new batsman Cameron Green then put on 71 for the forth wicket to further put the Super Kings bowlers to the sword.

    In the end, RCB reached 218-5 from their 20 overs. Patidar was eventually dismissed for 41 off 23 balls including two fours and four sixes while Green finished 38* off 17 balls including three fours and three sixes.

    CSK, needing at least 200 to advance to the playoffs, fell agonizingly short at 191-7 from their 20 overs.

    Rachin Ravindra led the way with 61 while Ravindra Jadeja made 42* against 2-42 from Yash Dayal.

    CSK entered the final over, bowled by Dayal, needing 17 to qualify to the playoffs. Captain MS Dhoni smashed the first ball out the ground before he was dismissed off the second ball.

    Dayal then held his nerve to concede only one run off the next four balls and seal RCB’s spot in the last four.

    Full scores:

    Royal Challengers Bangalore 218-5 off 20 overs (Faf Du Plessis 54, Virat Kohli 47, Rajat Patidar 41, Cameron Green 38*, Shardul Thakur 2-61)

    Chennai Super Kings 191-7 off 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 61, Ravindra Jadeja 42*, Ajinkya Rahane 33, Ms Dhoni 25, Yash Dayal 2-42)

  • CWI President congratulates Hayley Matthews on ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award CWI President congratulates Hayley Matthews on ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award

    Cricket West Indies (CWI) President, Dr. Kishore Shallow, has extended congratulations to West Indies captain Hayley Matthews for being named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 2024.

    Matthews’ exceptional all-round performances against Pakistan earned her this prestigious accolade for the third time, a testament to her consistent excellence on the international stage.

    She amassed 325 runs in the ODI series at a remarkable average of 162.5 and took six wickets. In the T20I series, she continued her stellar form, scoring 126 runs at an average of 42 and securing six wickets. Her outstanding contributions earned her four Player of the Match awards and the Player of the Series title in the ODIs.

    President Shallow praised Matthews' achievements, stating, “Hayley continues to be an inspiration and a beacon of excellence for West Indies cricket. Her dedication, skills, and leadership are evident in her performances, and we are incredibly proud of her accomplishments.”

    Matthews edged out strong competition from South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu to claim the award. Her latest triumph adds to her previous wins in November 2021 and October 2023, making her one of the most decorated players in this category. Only Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner has won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award more times than Matthews.

    Reflecting on CWI’s commitment to women's cricket, Dr. Shallow remarked, “CWI’s continuous efforts to support and develop women’s cricket are yielding remarkable results. Hayley’s success is a clear indicator of the growth and potential of women’s cricket in the West Indies. We remain steadfast in our mission to provide our female cricketers with the best opportunities to excel.”

    President Shallow also emphasized the broader impact of Matthews' success: “Hayley’s achievements not only bring pride to West Indies cricket but also inspire young girls across the Caribbean to pursue their dreams in the sport. Her journey is a powerful narrative of what can be achieved when desire meets hard work and determination.”

    CWI remains committed to fostering the development of women’s cricket through robust programs, dedicated support, and investment in talent. The success of players like Hayley Matthews showcases the progress being made and the bright future of women’s cricket in the region.

  • Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances at T20 World Cup Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances at T20 World Cup

    West Indies great and ICC Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose believes his former team have enough talent to win an unprecedented third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title next month.

    While the West Indies are just one of the two sides to have won multiple men’s T20 World Cup titles, the Caribbean team will need to overturn some poor form at recent ICC tournaments, if they are to become the only three-time winner of the event.

    The West Indies didn't make it out of the first round of the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and failed to even qualify for last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.

    But Ambrose thinks the West Indies' fortunes are turning under skipper Rovman Powell and pointed to T20I series successes over powerhouses South Africa, India, and England in the last 14 months as evidence of this.

    These returns have the legendary fast bowler confident of a strong showing from the West Indies in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, an event they will co-host with the USA.

    "We have a very, very good team. As we speak they (West Indies players) are in Antigua at a camp preparing themselves for the start of the T20 World Cup which is a couple of weeks away," Ambrose said while speaking at the launch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York earlier this week.

    "I believe once the guys start playing consistent cricket and smart cricket, I believe we can take the trophy. It is not going to be easy, but we are one of only two nations to have won it twice so we are going to try and make it three. And no other nation has ever won it on home soil, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well and I am hoping they can do it,” he added.

    The West Indies are drawn in Group C at the T20 World Cup and face the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Papua New Guinea first up in Guyana on June 2, before their remaining opening round fixtures against Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan.

    Ambrose expects to see some upsets at this year's edition of the T20 World Cup as he knows every side has plenty of talented players at their disposal.

    "I admire a lot of cricketers (at the T20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to them doing well. As a proud Antiguan and being from the West Indies, I want the West Indies to win,” he said.

    "It is not going to be easy because in T20 cricket every team has an equal chance of beating any other team and that is just the nature of T20 cricket. It is going to be exciting, but I am going to be rooting for the West Indies,” Ambrose ended.

back to top