RAMDIN RAGES AS WARRIORS DENIED

Photo : Dinesh Ramdin – Guyana Amazon Warriors captain

For second straight year the Guyana Amazon Warriors were denied a hold on the Limacol CPl T-20 trophy as they were beaten by the Barbados Tridents in Sunday’s final. Play was interrupted several times by the elements of nature.

The game which was heading to a titanic finish with Guyana needing 46 off 25 balls, was eventually called off with Dinesh Ramdin and Christopher Barnwell, the two batsmen at the crease. Barbados Tridents were awarded the victory by 8 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis calculation. The Tridents had never beaten the Warriors in their previous two meetings in the two-year history of the CPL, prior to the results of Sunday’s game.

The match was marred by moments of controversy ranging from the Warriors and West Indies Test captain, openly expressing his disagreement with his teammate and batting partner James Neesham being given out caught behind by Jason Holder. The moment of drama saw the batsman throwing his bat and gloves to the ground after the umpire gave the decision. Neesham’s facial expressions also reveal his displeasure at the decision.

This has not gone down well with a lot of fans and supporters of cricket, some regarding the matter as unprofessional, in a sport that is known has the gentleman’s game. The umpires were not spared the wrath, with many questioning the decision to use Barbadian umpire Gregory Braithwaite in the middle with the television umpire, being Leslie Reifer, also Barbadian.

The drama was not to end there as the Amazon Warriors players were a no-show at the presentation ceremony, during which fans were heard loudly ‘booing’ the decision. Lendl Simmons of the Amazon Warriors was named, Man of the Tournament but reluctantly went to collect his prize of piece of land in Beaumont Park, St Kitts, worth over US $400,000. Simmons was the highest runs scorer in the CPL 2014 tournament with 446 runs while, the leading wicket-taker going to Ravi Rampaul.

Tridents batsman Shoaib Malik, who finished unbeaten on 55 was named Man of the match.

The Management of Guyana Amazon Warriors has indicated the CPL board and organizers that they will be contesting the outcome of the game, hoping to have the result to be declared null and void.

Captain of the Barbados Tridents, Kieron Pollard said despite an ending that no one predicted, the team is ecstatic about their winning the competition.

“As I spoke to “Bish” I told him it feels well, it feels ecstatic,” he said. “I’m happy for the guys. It’s an opportunity for the guys to go to Champions League and show case their talents. I think we have gone through a rough time and we in the dressing room, the management, staff, would’ve known in this tournament, in terms of the different hiccups. But we were able to rally the guys and tell them that all that matters is the cricket. And at the end of the day there’s no more motivating factor than the championship and going to Champions League. I think the guys actually rallied around each and every one of us. It was a total team in the dressing room there and the guys were very up for it. So I’m very happy and very happy for the guys.

In the meantime the Kieron Pollard led boys are still celebrating their first hold on the title. They now look forward to representing the Caribbean region in the sixth edition of Champions League T20 Tournament 2015.