By: Brandon Corlette
Shamarh Brooks scored a magnificent century in CPL Qualifier Match 2 to lead the Jamaica Tallawahs into their third Hero Caribbean Premier League final, to be played against the Barbados Royals on Friday, September 30, at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD.
Tallawahs defeated Amazon Warriors by 37 runs after Brooks left the packed Providence Stadium, which had mostly home supporters, in awe with his classy stroke-play as he propelled Tallawahs to 226-4 in 20 overs. In response, Warriors managed 189-8 in 20 overs.
In the tall chase, Warriors lost the out-of-favour Paul Stirling (02) cheaply when he spooned one to short off the consistent Mohammad Amir to leave the Warriors’ score at 19-1 in 2.1 overs.
Gurbaz and Shai Hope blazed away to take the Warriors to 50 in 4.5 overs, the duo taking 17 runs before Gurbaz hit a return catch to Fabian Allen and was out for 22 from 16 balls.
Hope played some lovely shots in his 13-ball 31, which was decorated with two sixes and three fours, but Chris Green silenced the crowd when he rattled Hope’s stumps to convert the score to 56-3.
The powerplay saw Warriors’ score go to 62-3, and Keemo Paul was given a promotion to bat at five, ahead of Hetmyer. Shakib Al Hasan was cleaned up by Green for five at 78-4 in 7.5 overs.
At the halfway stage, Warriors were 95-4, with Hetmyer on 11 and Paul on 21. In the 11th over, Warriors reached the 100-run mark with Paul showing his versatility. Hetmyer eventually played an ugly swipe to leave the home fans in shock, as he was bowled all ends up by Nicholson Gordon for a run-a-ball 15.
At 112-5 in 12.3 overs, Romario Shepherd came and went for two, being caught at the wicket off Wasim.
Gudakesh Motie joined Paul, and the duo had an odd plan, refusing singles and aiming for boundaries. Paul reached his fifty from 33 balls with a 107-metre six over wide long-on. Four balls later, Paul’s innings came to an end when he was bowled by the impressive Wasim at 149-7 in 17.1 overs. Wasim’s spell produced 2-25 in four overs. Smith made 24 from 14, while Motie was unbeaten on 22 in a losing cause, as GAW ended on 189-8 in 20 overs.
Earlier, Warriors won the toss and opted to bowl first on a fresh surface. Romario Shepherd removed both openers in the powerplay. Kennar Lewis was the first man out, making a duck when he offered a return catch to Shepherd at 1-1 at the end of the first over.
Brandon King was then caught by Odean Smith for six, and the home fans began jumping as the King made his exit.
Skipper Rovman Powell and the classy Brooks added 55 runs for the third wicket. Brooks was dropped on five by the wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and the Barbadian capitalised on his good fortune. Powell did not spare Junior Sinclair, who had an off day with the ball. The skipper also took Smith for a four and a six in consecutive balls in the ninth over, but his demise came in that same over, which yielded 15 runs.
Powell was caught behind, and upon review, he was given out for a brisk 37 from 23 balls. His innings was decorated with three sixes and two fours.
At 71-3, Raymon Reifer joined Brooks, and the duo took Tallawahs to 85-3 at the halfway stage. In that period, the Warriors’ fielding looked pedestrian, with Shakib dropping Powell earlier in the innings at long-on.
Brooks reached his half-century in 34 balls, and he never looked back. It was all class from the right-hander as he put the Warriors’ bowling to the sword. Reifer, being trapped leg-before, departed for a run-a-ball 22 with Tallawahs on 123-4 in 15.1 overs. Brooks reached his maiden CPL century from 50 balls, and the last five overs saw Tallawahs scoring 106 runs. Brooks took three sixes off a Shakib Al Hasan over, then he and Imad Wasim slammed Shepherd for 23 runs in the 19th over.
In the final over, wherein Brooks reached his milestone, Smith conceded 26 runs and the Tallawahs posted 226-4 in 20 overs, the fifth joint highest score in CPL by a team. Brooks ended unbeaten on 109 from 52 balls in an innings that had eight sweet sixes and seven timely fours. Wasim was unbeaten on 41 from 15 balls in an innings that included three sixes and four boundaries. The duo added 103 runs off 34 balls. Shepherd claimed 2-43, while Tahir had 1-34. Smith conceded 64 runs in four overs, and had a solitary wicket.
This is the highest T20 score at Providence, and four of the five highest scores were scored this week, with additional work being done on the surface.
The grand final of the 2022 CPL will bowl off on Friday at Providence from 19:00h, with Barbados Royals taking on Jamaica Tallawahs.
