Roshon Primus put up a spirited fight with the bat but Saint Lucia Kings lost to Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven runs in their opening match of the 6ixty men’s 2022 cricket competition on Thursday.
After Saint Lucia Kings captain Mark Deyal won the toss and opted to bowl first, Jeavor Royal with two wickets for eight runs in his one over helped Saint Lucia Kings restrict Guyana Amazon Warriors to 111/5 in 10 overs after a flying start.
Roshon Primus (41 off 23) almost pulled off an improbable win for Saint Lucia Kings in the final over of the second innings but fell short after Kings were bowled out for 104.
Saint Lucia Kings got off to a slow start and were struggling at 17/2 after three overs. Openers Mark Deyal (5 off 4) and Johnson Charles (2 off 4) were gone cheaply but Roshon Primus built decent partnerships with Jesse Bootan (15 off 6) and Ravendra Persaud (16 off 7) in quick time to provide much-needed impetus into the chase.
However, the match seemed dead and buried for the Kings after Amazon Warriors chipped away with wickets regularly. The six wickets per side contest saw Saint Lucia Kings struggling at 55-5 in six overs.
Despite needing 57 to win in the final four overs with just one wicket in hand, Roshon Primus had other plans. Roshon Primus found good support from Matthew Forde from the other end and hit two sixes and a four to stretch the game into the final over.
Requiring 20 off the last over to be bowled by Odean Smith, Matthew Forde took the initiative and smashed the first ball for four. Roshon Primus too hit a boundary on the third ball after a change of strike to narrow the target down to 11 from 3.
The no-ball on the fourth delivery brought Kings within a touching distance. With seven required to win from two balls, Roshon went for the big hit but found his inside edge back onto the stumps.
Earlier, Guyana Amazon Warriors openers Chandrapaul Hemraj (18 off 9) and Shai Hope (19 off 8) got their team to a perfect start by scoring 34 runs in the first two overs. Also with Shai Hope hitting two sixes in the first two overs, Amazon Warriors had the perfect launchpad with the third powerplay over getting activated.
However, Jeavor Royal with his left-arm leggies turned the tables on Amazon Warriors in the third over. Royal cleaned up Shai Hope on the fourth ball of his over and then lured Chandrapaul Hemraj into playing a big shot which was miscued and caught at mid-off on the final ball.
The much-needed breakthroughs helped Saint Lucia Kings put a leash on Guyana Amazon Warriors and give away just 25 in the next three overs.
Matthew Forde sent back Heinrich Klaasen (8 off 4) in the fourth over before a dangerous Colin Ingram (1 off 2) was outdone by Mark Deyal’s off-breaks after a change of ends.
Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer then stitched a 48-run partnership with Odean Smith to take their team over 100, which proved enough to take them over the line.
Brief Scorecard
Guyana Amazon Warriors: 111/5 (Odean Smith 36, Waqar Salamkheil 3/16) beat Saint Lucia Kings: 104/6 (Roshon Primus 41, Jeavor Royal 2/8)
