Home advantage! - Tallawahs look to turn back Amazon Warriors at Sabina Park

Revenge will be on the minds of second-place Jamaica Tallawahs when they square off against leaders Guyana Amazon Warriors in the HERO Motorcorp Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 at Sabina Park tonight.

Set for an 8 p.m. start, the showdown, which will be the first of four for the Tallawahs at home, will see the home team looking to level their head-to-head tie with the visitors this season.

Guyana, on the back of outstanding bowling performances from Pakistani pace bowler Sohail Tanvir and sidelined West Indian spinner Veerasammy Permaul and good batting from Australian batsman Chris Lynn, defeated Jamaica by seven wickets two weeks ago in Guyana.

This represents the only loss for the Tallawahs in four games to go along with two victories and a no-result, and according to coach Paul Nixon, the aim heading into tonight is to correct matters.

"We underperformed massively the first time we played them," said Nixon, while referring to the first meeting of the pair two weeks ago.

JA STRUGGLE

Jamaica struggled to 100 in that encounter before the hosts cruised home at 100 for three.

"We didn't stick to our plans. we had poor decision-making at times, and while batting, we lost wickets two at a time in three different segments.

"These were costly mistakes, and things that we have addressed, and come game day we hope to correct."

Nixon, who said that overall he was happy with the progress of the team after four matches, is also hoping that a return to home conditions will bode well for the team.

He said in Guyana, the low-turning pitch assisted the home team but with Sabina Park expected to be faster and having more bounce, the Tallawahs should relish the conditions.

"I think it is going to be tough for them now coming from low-turning ankle-height pitches in Guyana to Sabina Park, with a bit more pace and bounce," commented Nixon.

"We will, therefore, be looking to exploit the conditions as best as we can and get closer to them at the top of the table."

The Warriors have 10 points from a record of five wins.

However, if they are to have any say in the result, the Tallawahs could be in for a surprise as according to coach Roger Harper, their aim is to extend their lead atop the points table.

"Our aim is to play our best cricket yet, execute our plans as efficiently as possible, and improve on our wins," he said.

JAMAICA TALLAWAHS (from): Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan, AndrÈ Russell, Imad Wasim, Dale Styne, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, AndrÈ McCarthy, Jonathan Foo, Alex Ross, Kesrick Williams, Nkrumah Bonner, Garey Mathurin, Timroy Allen, O'shane Thomas.

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS (from): Sohail Tanvir, Martin Guptill, Dwayne Smith, Chris Lynn, Rayad Emrit, Adam Zampa, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Orlando Peters, Assad Fudadin, Anthony Bramble, Paul Wintz, Steven Jacobs, Steven Katwaroo, Ali Khan, Shimron Hetmyer.