BASSETERRE, St.Kitts, CMC -West Indies middle order batsman Marlon Samuels smashed a blistering century but his aggressive innings was in vain as Antigua Hawbills went under again to Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) here last night.
Warriors defeated Hawkbills by 19 runs at Warner Park to register their fifth straight win but Samuels’ 52 ball 106 not out was the highlight of the match.
The overs ran out with Hawkbills 193 for three after the warriors posted an intimidating 212 for five in their 20 overs.
Warrior suffered an early setback after losing opener Lendl Simmons for a duck and Mohammad Hafeez cheaply.
But their innings were rescued by a quickfire 114-run third-wicket partnership between Martin Guptill (90) and Denesh Ramdin (51) off 59 balls.
Ramdin and Guptill were dismissed at quick intervals but warriors benefited from some valuable late-hitting by Christopher Barnwell who scored 37.
The Hawksbills also suffered a heavy setback at the start of their innings, tottering to 32 for the loss of three wickets.
But Orlando Peters who scored 67 not out and Samuels shouldered the burden by adding 161 runs from 86 balls, the highest partnership in T20 matches played in the Caribbean.
Samuels dominated the partnership which featured 11 boundaries and 13 sixes.
Despite the efforts of Peters and Samuels, the Hawksbills were left needing 42 runs off the last over.
The Hawksbills have slipped to their eighth consecutive defeat of the tournament while the Amazon Warriors are in contention for a spot in the knockouts, with ten points to occupy the third position behind Red Steel and the Jamaica Tawallahs
Scoreboard
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS innings
L Simmons c Cottrell b Tonge 0
M Guptill c Cummins b Brathwaite 90
Mohammad Hafeez c Peters b Cottrell 8
D Ramdin*† c Samuels b Tonge 51
C Barnwell b Hogg 37
J Neesham not out 9
N Stewart not out 1
Extras (lb 6, w 4, nb 6) 16
Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 212
Did not bat V Permaul, S Narine, K Santokie, R Beaton
Fall of wickets 1-6 (Simmons), 2-40 (Mohammad Hafeez), 3-154 (Ramdin), 4-168 (Guptill), 5-205 (Barnwell)
Bowling: Cottrell 4-0-28-1,Tonge 4-1-46-2,Brathwaite 4-0-37-1, Cummins 1-0-23-0, Hogg 3-0-39-1, Samuels 4-0-33-0.
ANTIGUA HAWKSBILLS
B Dunk c †Ramdin b Santokie 3
D Hussey b Stewart 13
M Samuels* not out 106
D Hyatt c Neesham b Permaul 0
O Peters not out 67
Extras (lb 4) 4
Total (3 wickets; 20 overs) 193
Did not bat D Thomas†, C Brathwaite, S Cottrell, M Cummins, G Tonge, G Hogg
Fall of wickets 1-8 (Dunk,), 2-31 (Hussey), 3-32 (Hyatt)
Bowling: Santokie 4-0-45-1,Mohammad Hafeez 1-0-4-0,Beaton 4-0-48-0, Stewart 3-0-25-1, Permaul 3-0-34-1, Narine 4-1-16-0, Neesham 1-0-17-0.
Toss – Antigua Hawksbills, who chose to field
Points – Guyana Amazon Warriors 2, Antigua Hawksbills 0
Player of the match – MJ Guptill (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
Umpires – N Duguid and PJ Nero
TV umpire – PA Gustard