Guyana Amazon Warriors has a reputation of being one of the most competitive sides in the Caribbean Premier League. A franchise that has made it to the finals on five occasions, but are yet to grab hold of their maiden CPL title.
The team enjoys a win percentage of 63.29 with 50 wins in 79 T20s contested so far. Last season, the Warriors had a streak of 11 consecutive wins, right from the start of the CPL league stage to the finals wherein they eventually lost to Jason Holder-led Barbados Tridents by a margin of 27 runs.
The addition of an experienced T20 campaigner like Ross Taylor has further strengthened their lineup, especially the middle-order, which can now take on the challenge of building a match-winning inning even at the expense of a few early dismissals.
Bowling department has been pretty solid with Keemo Paul, Romario Shephard, Qais Ahmed and Chris Green forming the core of their attack.
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Taking the above said in consideration, one shouldn’t be surprised if they succeed in making their way to the finals, and hopefully the fans get to witness them breaking the Jinx.
With CPL 2020 all set to take place few weeks from now, let’s have a look at the top five players from Guyana Amazon Warriors to keep an eye upon this season.
Brandon King
The opener wreaked havoc last season and will ploy hard to replicate a similar show this time around. Having scored 498 runs in 12 matches at an average and strike rate of 55.11 and 148.94, Brandon emerged as the highest run getter in the tournament. His best was in the Qualifier-1 against Barbados Tridents, wherein he smoked them for a blistering 132* off 72 deliveries, a knock that comprised 10 fours and 11 sixes and paved their way into the finals wherein he again top-scored for his team with a 33-ball 43.
The way he has been toying around with some of the best bowlers in CPL, one can expect him to render ripper exhibitions in the forthcoming season.
Nicholas Pooran
For someone to be rated as a future star in the T20s at the age of 24 speaks volume of the potential that Pooran possesses. A wicket-keeper batsman who plays at No 3, Pooran will certainly find himself in the majority of All Time CPL XI formed by the fans across the globe.
The southpaw has amassed over 1000 runs in CPL and bats at a strike rate of 154.16. In CPL 2019, he averaged 38.40 and struck a couple fifties, in the process aggregating 192 runs.
Not just his batting, it’s his glove-work behind the stumps that has impressed many. So far, Pooran has affected 48 dismissals which comprise 40 catches and 8 stumpings, making him sit at the second spot in the dismissal tally among wicket-keepers.
Shimron Hetmyer
Hetmyer’s rise in T20 cricket and subsequently the international arena has a lot associated with the way he has performed in CPL. The 23-year-old has been playing with the Guyana based franchise from 2016 edition and over the years, Hetmyer has established himself as one of the biggest match-winners. The sheer hitting ability that he has, any delivery bowled in the middle and leg can be dispatched by him for a hit straight out of the stadium.
The left-hander had belted 664 runs in 25 appearances, striking hard at a rate of 138.04, and holds a century and three half-centuries. Though he underperformed in the previous edition, one can still vouch on him to go bonkers in the coming season.
Chris Green
Green was among the highest wicket-takers and one of the most economical bowlers for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in CPL 2019. He scalped 13 wickets at 22.46 and bowled at a mind-boggling economy of 6.44. If not a wicket, one can bank on the off-spinner to hinder the opposition’s scoring rate.
Ross Taylor
The Kiwi cricketer would be vying to make a memorable comeback to this Caribbean T20 tournament. He last played the CPL in the 2015 edition wherein he was a member of the St Lucia Zouks, prior to which he played with the Trinidad Red Steel in the 2013-14 editions.
For a player who averages 31.48 and strikes at a rate of 132.67 in T20s, it is surprising that, at times, fans forget how great a player Ross Taylor is in the shortest format.
He is a reliable middle-order batsman who has over 6000 runs, 31 fifties, and a century to his name in the T20 format. The limited-overs series against India held earlier this year showed how lethal Taylor can be when inflow.
