International Cricket Update: Barbados Royals put in a team effort in the purest sense of the term to beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by 45 runs for their second win of the season, but one that keeps their prospects of making the CPL playoffs in 2021 alive.
Kyle Mayers was returned into the XI after missing the previous two live T20 matches and elevated to open for the first time this season, despite only scoring 13 runs in four innings. It paid off handsomely with a blistering 36 off 20 balls to set the tone, with Johnson Charles and Glenn Phillips following suit with 40 and 44 respectively in a total of 185 for 8 - a season-best by 24 runs - that was far beyond the Warriors' grasp in a tame Warriors chase.
Mayers faced all but four balls in the first four overs, scoring all but six of the first 42 runs as he pounced on Chandrapaul Hemraj and Kevin Sinclair's spin to slam four fours in the opening three overs. Mayers also went for Romario Shepherd in the fourth, launching him twice over the leg side rope for six runs before succumbing to a slower ball chipped to mid-off to close the over.
However, by that point, Mayers had set the tone for the remainder of the batting order to follow. Charles controlled a 46-run second-wicket stand with Azam Khan, who scored just four runs, in a similar way to Mayers. On the draw, Charles was particularly cruel to Odean Smith, and then later to Gudakesh Motie's spin, sweeping him repeatedly through the leg side. Another attempted sweep to Mohammad Hafeez resulted in a catch on the top edge.
After Azam Khan fell to a failed sweep against Imran Tahir in the following over, the baton was passed to Phillips, who teed off on Tahir in the 10th and 12th overs for three sixes over the leg sideline before coasting the rest of the way to top score with 44.
Match Scorecard: Barbados Royals 185 for 8 (Phillips 44, Charles 40, Shepherd 3-31) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 140 (Smith 43, Young 3-24) by 45 runs