Two years ago they left Warner Park in St Kitts in tears after what they thought was an unfair decision to award Barbados Tridents the title after rain interrupted the finals.
Well on Sunday, at the same venue they will have a chance to atone for that defeat, as they are into their third CPL finals, after defeating Jamaica Tallawahs in the play-off on Wednesday night in St Kitts.
Their two foreign imports Chris Lynn and Sohail Tanvir, showed why the Warriors are paying good money for them, as they took charge to give their team a four-wicket victory.
All is however not lost for Jamaica as they will play the winner of last night’s clash between the Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks for a chance to reach the finals.
Batting first, the Tallawahs found the batting surface at Warner Park tricky and could muster only 146 for eight off their 20 overs. Tallawah skipper Chris Gayle top scored with 33 of 36 balls. Tanvir grabbed 2/24 to take his tally in their year’s CPL to 20 wickets at 14.00 with economy of 6.66 runs per over.
Also enjoying the slow track, as he was able to use a regular change of pace with the ball gripping the surface was Warriors skipper Rayad Emrit. He finished with 3/30 as the normally free-flowing Jamaicans could not break the shackles.
Left to get a score that was about 20 runs short, the Warriors lost wickets at regular intervals but was always in pole position to get the win.
After the early loss of Dwayne Smith and Nic Maddison, it was up to Lynn and he did not disappoint. Really enjoying this CPL, the right hander had to temper his approach and in the end his 49 runs were priceless. He had to graft for the runs but kept his eyes for bad balls, which he dispatched with disdain. He faced 47 balls hitting one four and three sixes. He is now the leading scorer in this year’s tournament with 447 runs at an average of 49.66.
When he left, the task of bringing home the victory fell to Emrit and Tanvir and they eventually brought joy with two balls left. Tanvir smacked the fourth ball out of the park, to spark of wild celebrations from the Guyanese fans here. He finished unbeaten on 21 from 13 balls with two sixes. Emrit kept a calm head and got 11 not out of nine balls.
Scoreboard
Warriors vs Tallawahs
Tallawahs Inns
C Walton c Mohammed b Emrit 16
C Gayle b Barnwell 33
K Sangakkara c Mohammed b Zampa 20
R Powell c Maddison b Permaul 23
A Russell b Tanvir 11
S Al Hasan c Bramble b Emrit 2
N Bonner c Peters b Tanvir 4
T Allen c Jacobs b Emrit 10
I Wasim not out 5
G Mathurin not out 1
Extras 3lb, 17w, 1nb 21
Total for 8 wkts (20ovs) 146
Fall of wkts: 33, 72, 84, 120, 123, 123, 132, 139.
Bowling: S Tanvir 4-0-24-2, S Jacobs 4-0-25-0, R Emrit 4-0-30-3, D Smith 1-0-10-0, C Barnwell 2-0-13-1, A Zampa 3-0-20-1, V Permaul 2-0-21-1.
Warriors inns
D Smith c Walton b Williams 16
N Maddison c&b Williams 14
C Lynn c Russell b Williams 49
J Mohammed c Shakib b Mathurin 13
C Barnwell c Powell b Russell 4
S Tanvir not out 21
A Bramble c Bonner b Williams 6
R Emrit not out 11
Extras 4b, 11w, 1nb 16
Total for 6 wkts (19.4) 150
Fall of wkts: 16, 52, 85, 92, 109, 116.
Bowling: A Russell 4-0-26-1, K Williams 4-0-37-4, I Wasim 3.4-0-21-0, G Mathurin 3-0-25-1, S Al Hasan 4-0-20-0, R Powell 1-0-17-0.
