LAUDERHILL, Florida, CMC – Opener Chadwick Walton slammed a half-century but Guyana Amazon Warriors opened their Caribbean Premier League campaign on a losing note with a four-wicket defeat to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots here yesterday.
Playing at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium, Amazon Warriors raised an inadequate 123 for seven off their 20 overs and Patriots then overcame a stuttering start to get home with an over to spare.
Sent in, Amazon Warriors were carried by Jamaican Walton who slammed three fours and two sixes in a 51-ball innings. He put on 31 off 22 deliveries for the first wicket with Martin Guptill who made 23 from 14 balls and a further 45 for the second wicket with Pakistani Babar Azam who made 21.
Once Babar held out in the deep to Jonathan Carter off seamer Carlos Brathwaite at 76 for two in the 13th over, the innings declined rapidly as Amazon Warriors lost five wickets for 46 runs. Walton eventually perished in the final over, skying one from left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell to Mohammed Nabi at 122 for five.
He was one of three wickets to fall in the over as Sohail Tanvir (0) and Keemo Paul (6) also departed
Cottrell (2-18) and Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali (2-19) ended with two wickets apiece.
In reply, Patriots were in deep danger at 57 for five in the 11th over before recovering thanks to a top score of 31 from Brathwaite and an unbeaten 29 from left-hander Jonathan Carter.
The pair put on an invaluable 49 for the sixth wicket to pull the innings around and put Patriots in sight of victory.
Brathwaite produced a typically robust innings, blasting two fours and three sixes in a 19-ball knock while Carter saw his side home in a 30-ball knock which included a four.
Opener Chris Gayle, in his first-ever game for Patriots, struck 15 off 16 balls with a four and a six before miscuing seamer Rayad Emrit to Jason Mohammed at mid-wicket in the fifth over at 26 for two.
Rayad Emrit (2-14) and off-spinner Steven Jacobs (2-23) picked up two wickets apiece.
