KINGSMEN SUFFERED 3RD STRAIGHT CPL DEFEAT

It hasn’t been a happy return of CPL action at Sabina Park as Jamaica Kingsmen went down to the Guyana Amazon Warriors by six wickets for back-to-back defeats and a third straight loss of the season for the newcomers.

Imran Tahir won the toss and asked Rovman Powell's men to take first strike, reaping instant success as Khary Pierre and Shamar Joseph struck in the powerplay to leave the host on 26-for-2 after overs. The Kingsmen only resistance came from Opener Reeza Hendricks with 40, and captain Rovman Powell chipped in with 24 as the pair put together a 35-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before both were dismissed by Imran Tahir.

Mohammad Nabi weaved a web of destruction, bagging 4-for-22 off his allotted 4 overs, Imran Tahir 2-for-26 and Shamar Joseph 2-for-22 were the next best wicket takers as the Warriors bundled out the Kingsmen for 117 all out in 19-point-4 overs.

In their chase, Warriors lost Mavendra Dindyal in the first over for a first ball duck to Jediah Blades but that did not derail the chase as the Amazon Warriors cruised to 118-for-4 to register a comfortable six-wicket victory. Shai Hope anchored the chase with a composed unbeaten 56 to stare the Warriors home in 14-point-1 overs, Glenn Phillips contributed 28 runs.

Andre Russell led the wicket column with 2 for 12, Jediah Blades and Vitel Lawes got a wicket each.

Scores in the match, Guyana Amazon Warriors 118 for 4 (Hope 56*, Russell 2-12) beat Jamaica Kingsmen 117 (Hendricks 40, Nabi 4-22, Shamar Joseph 2-22, Tahir 2-26) by six wickets

Player of the match Mohammad Nabi spoke about the team’s bowling tactics “we had three practice sessions there and planned to bowl from that side using the bigger boundary and the wind. The plan was to target the leg side and bowl mostly top spin because, with the angle, it looks like it's going to midwicket, but the bounce makes it tough to hit.”

Meanwhile, Rovman Powell is hoping that some quality bonding as a team will lift their spirit “…Nobody is going to come from the outside and lift our heads up for us. Tomorrow we'll spend some time together as a whole group instead of in little subgroups, and hopefully that brings us a bit closer as a team.”

He is also asking for some grace from the fans as they search for their first win “Just be patient with us. If you know cricket, you can see that it's a young team and guys need help at this level. Not a lot of them have much experience playing in the CPL or in these conditions. Just be patient with us and keep coming out. Trinidad is a very good team, so we'll need your support rallying around us. I'm sure we'll turn it around at some point."

The Kingsmen will continue their search for a win on Saturday against the defending champion Trinbago Knight Riders at Sabina Park.