Staff Writer – Latoya Wakefield
It was a perfect day for cricket. CaribDirect arrived on scene one hour before match time on July 12th to watch the Jamaican Tallawahs face the Guyanese Amazons, held at their final home Hero Caribbean Premier League game here at Sabina Park, on Sunday. The area was packed with excitement, noisemakers, Jamaican flags and fans locally and internationally. People lined at the gates, anticipating a good game. CaribDirect was greeted by a happy full-house. Amazon was up to bat first. They were rumoured to be an ‘easy’ team but the match proved differently. Several opportunities missed the Tallawahs to out the opponents; the Amazons were warriors till the end, ending their 20 overs at 179/3.
Tallawahs’ supporters weren’t daunted by the score. After the 15 minutes break, supporters blared their love for the Tallawahs as they walked out on the field to bat. Optimism was in the air that the Tallawahs would defeat and conquer. Tallawahs started off with a bang – 6. The crowd went wild. However, it wasn’t long before the mighty Tallawahs fell quickly at that, wicket after wicket. At 10 overs, supporters were still hopeful; it was either singles or 4s/6s.
They could still win this even if they lost Gayle early in the game for 11 runs. Not long after though, hope was lost for many as players continue to out and supporters left the venue with slumped shoulders in bulks. It ended so quickly for the Tallawahs that those remaining didn’t even realized the game ended until they saw the cricketers walked off the field. Tallawahs bowled all out for 95 runs at 15.5 overs. Amazon won by 84 runs.
“Wuckless”, “Anti-climatic”, “disappointing” were a few of the words supporters used as they walked out. Some stated that the Tallawahs partied too much, moved lazy, and seemed tired and that they probably didn’t drink any cornmeal porridge the morning of the match. Maybe supporters were a bit bitter because Tallawahs lost to the Tridents from Barbados the day before. They lost by 17 runs.
Tallawahs’ captain, Chris Gayle, remained vigilant as he stated in his speech that the Tallawahs will bring home the trophy.
Photo courtesy www.pinterest.com
Here are the stats of the game according to jamaicaobserver.com:
The middle and lower order with the exception of Andre Russell (28), Narsingh Deonarine (18), and Chris Lynn (16), continued to struggle, as no other batsman made a useful contribution. Lanky seamer Ransford Beaton ripped through the Tallawahs lower order, taking 4-9 from 2.5 overs, with strong support from Sunil Narine (2-9) and Marchant De Lange (2-17).
Earlier, Guyana Amazon Warriors led by a crucial unbeaten 65 off 30 balls by Australian Brad Hodge posted a daunting 179-3 off their 20 overs. Hodge’s knock included three boundaries and six sixes. Assad Fudadin was the next top scorer with 54 from 43 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes.
Left-arm swing bowler Krishamar Santokie (1-16), Jerome Taylor (1-46) and Andre Russell (1-39) took the wickets for the Tallawahs.
