Hetmyer, Motie help Amazon Warriors finish second for playoffs
They registered their second straight win to seal their place in Qualifier 1, against St Lucia Kings
They registered their second straight win to seal their place in Qualifier 1, against St Lucia Kings
Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
A disappointing season for the Barbados Royals has finally come to an end. With the league phase now concluded, the play-off matchups are officially set! The Guyana Amazon Warriors will face off against the St Lucia Kings in Qualifier 1. That means the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons will play against the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Eliminator. And that's all the action from us today. Thank you for tuning in. Take care and go well. This is Rashad Mahbub signing out!
Imran Tahir: "[On Securing a Top-Two Finish] Thank you very much. I'm quite pleased with that. As I said before, we have not been playing our best cricket, but it's nice to see that we came yesterday, showed some character, and came in today and bowled the team out. I am really, really pleased with the boys. [Performance of Sampson] We asked Sampson to do the job. He came up with his own plan and showed great character and heart. I think that's what you want to see from a guy who just comes into the team. He wanted the opportunity badly, and he showed that. I quite appreciate the job he's done so far. [Joseph's shoulder] I think he's good. He's strong enough to cope with that. I'm really pleased with the way he came and bowled. That's what we want to see. I'm happy with his game in front of the home crowd and the way he performed and bowled very quick. That's what you want to see from him. [Motie's Fifer] Motie bowled really well and got five wickets. It's not easy to take five wickets in T20 cricket, so a big well done to him. I hope that he carries on in the same form. The guys who want to show big heart and character, like Hetmyer and Sampson, did their job. Hetmyer is a senior player, and I think that's his job, and that's what we expect from him every game, because he's got experience playing cricket all over the world. The way he did today, he showed his class. So I'm really pleased with the way they both managed their innings. [Upcoming Qualifier 1] We just want to play good cricket, and that's what we're hoping for. We need to want it badly, and that's what I'm hoping to see from the boys. We've got two or three days off, so we're just going to go and plan nicely and come back strongly."
Rovman Powell: "It's been a disappointing season. We just couldn't get it right as a team. But having said that, we played good cricket. Sometimes, the luck wasn't on our side, but I believe you have to work for your luck. If in a season of 10 games, you drop 30 catches, you don't expect to win many games. We've dropped some crucial and simple catches at important times, and that has messed up our season in a big way. [Message to the Fans] We are obviously disappointed as players, so the fans are also disappointed. All we ask is that they stick with us. It's a journey. We have seen a lot of young Barbadian players, like Ramon Simmonds, coming through. Hopefully, in the next year or two, they can start winning more games for Barbados."
Player of the Match, Shimron Hetmyer: "Honestly, it's a testament to my support system. My wife really pulled me through after yesterday. She was really there for me, and we prayed about it. I'm happy that I could actually do something for the team this time. Honestly, I was just trying to give myself a couple of balls more. I was trying to get a single first, not to go for big shots in a row. But after that, I was just trying to play my strong shots for as long as possible. As the game progressed, I just tried to hit as many boundaries as I possibly could. It's always nice playing at home. Hopefully, in a few days' time, we could come again and replicate this. [Kofi James dismissal] I thought the ball was going to go over, so I'm happy that I actually got my balance right, turned back, and caught it. [Qualifiers] It's always nice to have two chances. The job is not over yet; it's only now beginning. We have some crucial games to go. So we're trying to play as few games as possible. We're just taking it one game at a time, and it starts with the St Lucia Kings on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to that."
10:45 pm The Guyana Amazon Warriors have finished the group phase on a high note, jumping to second place in the points table! An early chance was blown away by the Warriors as they failed to review a tight lbw decision of Quinton de Kock in the first over. However, it didn't turn out to be costly as QDK gifted his wicket away. Dwaine Pretorius struck twice inside the Powerplay and shifted the momentum towards his team. Shamar Joseph was introduced in the sixth over and made his presence known with sheer pace, clean bowled Rassie van der Dussen, and then went on to beat the outside edge of Sherfane Rutherford a few times. The required run rate kept on increasing, reaching 13.20 after ten overs. Rutherford played a steady knock of 27 runs off 32 balls, and his misery was ended when Joseph trapped him in front. A cluster of wickets lost in the middle overs sealed the fate of the Royals mid-way through the run chase. Kofi James was the lone warrior down the order with a brilliant 26-run cameo off 13 balls. Gudakesh Motie cleaned up the tail swiftly, finishing with 5 wickets and conceding only 21 runs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors won by 64 runs
Z Motara b Motie 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0
KHM James c Hetmyer b Motie 26 (18m 13b 3x4 1x6) SR: 200
They registered their second straight win to seal their place in Qualifier 1, against St Lucia Kings