Tears flowed freely at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Saturday night, as for the fifth time in seven years the Guyana Amazon Warriors were turned back in the final of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament, this time by the Barbados Tridents who won their second title by 27 runs.
The Tridents also defeated the Warriors in 2014 for the title.
Chasing 172 runs for victory, the Warriors buckled under the pressure before getting to 144-9. The loss was very heartbreaking for the Guyanese franchise as they had won all their 11 matches heading into the title match.
The Warriors had 11 consecutive wins going into the final but according to the law of averages, a loss was coming somewhere along the line and it came in the championship match.
Spinner Ashley Nurse, criticised by some sections of the Barbados public for his inclusion on the team, enjoyed yet another classic match to lead the way. Nurse hit 19 not out and added a vital 63 runs from the last five overs and one ball with Jonathan Carter, who hit an unbeaten 50, as they took Tridents from 108-6 to an eventual 171-6. Carter's knock came off just 26 balls, with four fours and four sixes.
Nurse bowled beautifully to scalp the wicket of Warriors mainstay Brandon King for 43 and that of the dangerous Nicholas Pooran for 24. He bowled an excellent spell of two wickets for 17 runs off his four overs to cripple the opposition. Nurse finished the job that was started by the left-arm seamer Raymond Reifer, who grabbed two wickets at the top and came back to take another two towards the end to finish with four wickets for 22 runs.
Earlier, the Tridents won the toss and decided to take first strike and openers Alex Hales and Johnson Charles flew out the blocks. The two hammered 43 runs by the sixth over before Hales left for 28 to open the floodgates.
Charles fought a bit but an injudicious pull against the energetic Imran Tahir brought his innings to a close. He got 39 off 22 balls with a six and six fours. It then took the repeated last over heroics from Nurse and Carter to give them the winning score.
SUMMARISED SCORES
BARBADOS TRIDENTS 171-6 (20) (Jonathan Carter 50 no, Johnson Charles 37, Alex Hales 28, Ashley Nurse 19*) v GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS 144-9 (20) (Brandon King 43, Nicolas Pooran 24, Raymond Reifer 4/22, Ashley Nurse 2/17)
Result: TRIDENTS WON BY 27 RUNS
Man of the match: Jonathan Carter (BT)
CPL FINAL RESULTS OVER THE YEARS
2013 – Jamaica Tallawahs bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wkts
2014 – Barbados Tridents bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 8 runs.
2015 – T&T Red Steel bt Barbados Tridents by 20 runs.
2016 – Jamaica Tallawahs bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 9 wkts.
2017 – Trinbago Knight Riders bt St. Kitts Patriots by 3 wkts.
2018 – Trinbago Knight Riders bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wkts.
2019 – Barbados Tridents bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 27 runs.