He smashed 109 in just 52 balls after Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer had won the toss and elected to field at Guyana's Providence Stadium
Guyana: Jamaica Tallawahs 226-4, Guyana Amazon Warriors 189-8 - Jamaica Tallawahs win by 37 runs
Shamarh Brooks' century set up victory in the qualifier for Jamaica Tallawahs, who will face Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League final on Saturday.
He smashed 109 in just 52 balls after Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer had won the toss and elected to field at Guyana's Providence Stadium.
That call backfired spectacularly despite Brandon King and Kennar Lewis falling early to Romario Shepherd. But from then on, Tallawahs dominated: Rovman Powell smashed 37, before a cameo from Raymon Reifer and late fireworks from Imad Wasim, who hammered 41 off just 15 deliveries.
But the star of the show was Brooks, who only joined Tallawahs as a replacement in 2021 before being retained ahead of this season.
"I love this franchise," he said after a performance that featured eight sixes and seven fours. "I'm just happy that we're in the final. There's one more hurdle for us to cross but I'm just enjoying the year, taking it stride by stride.
Jamaica Tallawahs have reached the final of the CPL (CPL/Getty Images)
"I'm happy to be playing against a franchise that I played with before. I have a few friends in the team and am looking forward to it. I'm very happy with the team's performance. They had to come hard at us, but we stuck to the plan."
For Guyana, whose spinners are so often a major part of their gameplan, Imran Tahir, Gudakesh Motie, Junior Sinclair and Shakib al Hasan were all expensive, though none as much as Odean Smith, whose four overs were taken for 64. Amazon Warriors were sloppy in the field, with Brooks dropped on just five.
In reply, there were defiant efforts from Shai Hope – 31 off 13 balls – and Keemo Paul, who hit 56 in 37 deliveries. But Tallawahs mucked in after a groin injury to Mohammad Amir to ease their side over the line, with Wasim taking 2 for 25 in four overs to deny Guyana a place in the final.