By Xavier Moseley
Dating back to the first edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) the Guyana Amazon Warriors have always been a dominant force in the group stages, no matter the strength of the squad on paper.
The Warriors, attired in the colours of the Gold Arrow Head always seem to muster their way into the knockout stages of the CPL and most times the Final. After seven(7) editions of the CPL, the Warriors have failed to bring the title back to Georgetown with five second place finishes and two third place finishes, the Warriors support base may feel that they have a bad relationship with Lady Luck and based on those stats it’s fair to assume it.
Over the years the Georgetown franchise has been a temporary home for many world class cricketers the likes of James Franklin , Chris Lynn , Martin Guptil, Lasith Malinga , Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik have all called the Providence National Stadium their home.
These big names from around the World as well as some of the Caribbean’s top stars were never enough to take the Warriors across the finish line as they usually win the battle in the group stage but lose the war in the knockout stages or Final.
Of the five finals the Warriors have lost , the 2019 CPL final was the most painful for their supporters as the Warriors eased their way through the group stages , Outclassing all teams they faced heading into the Final undefeated, but couldn’t put the final nail in the coffin and win the most important game of the season.
The 2020 Caribbean Premier League campaign will see the Warriors again attempt to get their hands on the CPL Trophy with not alot of changes to the 2019 squad the core of the team is still there with the likes of Shimron Hetmyer , Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King , Chanderpaul Hemraj, Kemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford all still present.
The experienced Shoaib Malik, who was last year’s fearless Captain, wasn’t retained, however Chris Green has been handed the captaincy this year and he’ll be deputized by Nicholas Pooran while former New Zealand Captain, Ross Taylor will surely play an integral part in this campaign.
Exciting young talents like Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Sinclair are expected to take most of the opportunities given as well.
The group is expected to do well and get to the knockout stages easily as the group stage battles are usually child’s play for the Warriors but the question remains; Will they finally win the War when the knockout stages and Final comes around? Only time will tell.
Their first challenge comes in the form of their old nemesis, the Trinbago Knight Riders when the tournament bowls off on Tuesday (August 18) at 10:00hrs at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
The 592 Dugout 