CPL

Shai Hope, Odean Smith inspire Amazon Warriors to 12-run victory over Tallawahs despite Brandon King's splendid 100

By Sports Desk September 22, 2022

Guyana Amazon Warriors got off to a winning start on their home leg of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a thrilling victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs on Wednesday night.

The Tallawahs won the toss and opted to field first and but for the final three overs of the Amazon Warriors innings that seemed like an inspired decision.

Restricting the Amazon Warriors to 104-7 after 17 overs the Tallawahs looked in full control but Odean Smith and Keemo Paul added 74 from 27 balls to guide the Amazon Warriors to a magnificent 178-8.

 The total looked beyond the Tallawahs but Brandon King led a lone charge with the first Hero CPL century of the tournament. Taking the chase down to the final over, King was dismissed with three balls to go and with that victory slipped out of The Tallawahs' reach.

 Earlier the Tallawahs had taken control of the match with their cadre of spinners tying the Amazon Warriors in knots.

 Other than Shai Hope who hit a sparkling 60 from 45 balls no other batter was able to get to grips with the conditions and when Gudakesh Motie fell in the 16th over to leave the Amazon Warriors 98-7 it felt like Jamaica’s game to lose.

 That was until Smith and Paul produced a quite remarkable display of power hitting to blast the Amazon Warriors to an improbable total. 74 runs were plundered off the final three overs to set the Tallawahs an unlikely 179 to win.

 If 179 was unlikely, Brandon King clearly did not read the script. His one-man mission to chase down the total nearly pulled off an unlikely heist. Hitting shots all over the ground King reached an unbeaten 80 from 55 balls when the rain came down to interrupt the match.

When play resumed King marched serenely to his century but he could not see the chase home falling with three balls to spare and with that the Tallawahs' hopes were extinguished. 

 ScoresGuyana Amazon Warriors 178-8 (Hope 60, Smith 42; Nabi 3-12, Green 2-24) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 166 (King 104, Mckenzie 15; Tahir 2-17, Smith 2-26) by 12 runs.

Related items

  • Williams hits 52 as Jamaica open CWI T20 Blaze campaign with seven-wicket win over Windward Islands Williams hits 52 as Jamaica open CWI T20 Blaze campaign with seven-wicket win over Windward Islands

    Newly crowned CG United Women’s Super50 Cup champions Jamaica opened their account in the CWI T20 Blaze with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Windward Islands Women at Warner Park on Sunday.

    The Windwards, after winning the toss and batting first, posted 117-5 from their 20 overs.

    Openers Qiana Joseph and Jannilea Glasgow were the chief scorers with 56 and 37, respectively, while Chedean Nation led the Jamaica bowling with 3-19 from her three overs.

    Jamaica then needed only 16 overs to reach 118-3 thanks to a 35-ball 52 from Rashada Williams. Her opening partner Natasha McLean contributed 19 while Captain Stafanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry were the not out batters with 16 and 13, respectively.

    Zaida James took 2-16 from her four overs for the Windwards.

  • It’s a lot of fun – Heather Knight still enjoying captaining England It’s a lot of fun – Heather Knight still enjoying captaining England

    Heather Knight believes she still has a “lot to offer” as England captain after nearly eight years in the post.

    Knight succeeded Charlotte Edwards, who had a decade-long stint in the position, in June 2016 and her tenure has coincided with some ground-breaking moments for women’s cricket, both domestically and worldwide.

    England head coach Jon Lewis recently praised Knight’s longevity and commitment as “second to none” after she withdrew from the Women’s Premier League to play a full part in the tour of New Zealand.

    While great rival Meg Lanning stepped down as Australia captain and retired from international cricket late last year, Knight insisted she still gets a kick out of leading England and has much more to give.

    “It’s a lot of fun and I’m still enjoying doing it,” the 33-year-old told the PA news agency.

    “As long as I’m moving things and myself forward and still enjoying it, it’s something I want to continue to do.

    “When I think it’s eight years, it seems like a hell of a long time but it’s gone very fast, that’s for sure, and I still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer the team to keep moving things forward.

    “I enjoy that responsibility of trying to change. I’ve had to adapt my leadership as the years have gone and I quite enjoy doing that.

    “There’s always a big tournament around the corner these days, there’s one every year so there’s always something to work towards and try and have a chance of being successful in.”

    Knight oversaw England’s seminal World Cup triumph in 2017, when they beat India in the Lord’s final, but global trophies have since been out of their reach, hoovered up by the better-resourced Australia juggernaut.

    England won both white-ball series against their fierce rivals in the multi-format Ashes last year but Knight reckons Australia are still the side to beat ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

    “Teams are starting to challenge them which is a really healthy place to be,” Knight said.

    “But Australia are still a very good team and ultimately they’re still the target everyone is looking to knock down.”

    England take on New Zealand in Dunedin in the first of five T20s in the early hours of Tuesday morning as they begin building towards the next global event, scheduled to be held in September and October.

    They will be without Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt for the first three T20s – a prearranged agreement which allowed the quartet to focus on their WPL commitments.

    But that allows those on the fringes a chance to make their mark, with Tammy Beaumont set for her 100th T20 appearance, more than two years after her 99th cap. The 33-year-old was jettisoned ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games but she has elbowed her way back in following some sparkling knocks in 2023.

    “The door’s not shut to anyone,” Knight added. “There is that opportunity for players coming in and it will be really interesting to see how they do.

    “Tammy’s not been around the T20 stuff for a long time, she’s gone away and worked on her game a lot and done things a little bit differently. She massively deserves that opportunity to come back in and open the batting in T20 cricket.

    “Everyone knows Tammy is a gritty cricketer, a bit of a fighter and loves a challenge so I’m super excited how she does with this opportunity she’s got.”

  • Leeward Islands Women and Guyana Women secure victories on CWI T20 Blaze opening day Leeward Islands Women and Guyana Women secure victories on CWI T20 Blaze opening day

    In an electrifying start to the CWI T20 Blaze at Warner Park in St Kitts on Sunday, Leeward Islands Women and Guyana Women emerged victorious in their respective matches.

    In a thrilling encounter, Leeward Islands Women clinched a hard-fought 12-run victory over Barbados Women, propelled by a stellar performance from Reniece Boyce. Boyce's impressive half-century, scoring 67 runs from just 52 balls, guided Leeward Islands to a total of 139-7 in their allotted 20 overs.

    Naijanni Cumberbatch delivered an outstanding performance with the ball, ending with figures of 4-9 from her four overs.

    Despite a valiant effort from Barbados Women, with Kycia Knight contributing 37 runs and Kyshona Knight remaining unbeaten on 50, their endeavours fell short as they were restricted to 127-5. Rozel Liburd led the bowling attack for Leeward Islands, claiming 2 wickets for 18 runs.

    In the second match of the day, Guyana Women cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Trinidad and Tobago Women.

    Trinidad and Tobago struggled with the bat, managing only 66 runs before being bowled out in 18.3 overs. Plaffiana Millington was the star for Guyana, returning remarkable figures of 4-5 from 3.3 overs. Shunelle Shaw was the top scorer for Trinidad and Tobago with 15 runs.

    In the chase, Guyana Women displayed dominance as they reached the target with ease, scoring 67-3 in just 11 overs. Shabika Gjnabi led the charge with an unbeaten 24, supported by Shemaine Campbell, who contributed 19 runs.