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Barbados Tridents

Bravo brothers star as TKR defeat Tridents for fourth straight win

The Zouks started aggressively - Andre Fletcher lofted Ali Khan for a Hero Maximum but fell next ball, Pierre taking a fine catch at third man. The fit-again Rakheem Cornwall was unfazed and hit the ball after Fletcher’s dismissal for six, and the Zouks flew to 32/1 after three overs.

But then Cornwall drove aerially, Munro took a good catch, and on his home ground, Bravo became the founding member of T20 cricket’s 500 Club. He soon made it 501 - a portentous number on a ground with a pavilion named for Brian Lara - by yorking Roston Chase, and after a strong start, the Zouks had stuttered to 43/3 off the Powerplay.

Pollard went with Fawad Ahmed and himself after the Powerplay to keep the pressure on. They did so with aplomb, conceding only 15 runs in four overs and not giving up a single boundary. At halfway, the Zouks were 58/3 and hadn’t found the fence for 32 balls.

48-year-old Pravin Tambe, the first Indian to play the Hero CPL, only got one over, but it was an eventful one. Najibullah Zadran hit a Hero Maximum and a four, but Tambe had the last laugh. Najibullah misread the googly and gave Pollard a simple catch at cover, and Tambe had his own little moment of history.

Mohammad Nabi was busy, cutting Pollard for four, but with Mark Deyal scratchy, Fawad’s over went for just four and Pollard finished his spell tightly, leaving the Zouks searching for rhythm at 93/4 off 14 overs.

Nabi tried to provide it, sweeping Fawad for four and launching him for a Hero Maximum, but Fawad finished strong by ending Deyal’s struggles. Zouks captain Daren Sammy decided the situation called for himself, but Pierre returned with another good over and the Zouks entered the last four overs at 109/5.

Sammy had a few lusty swings but missed them all, and was eventually trapped LBW by Pierre. That was the last action before the rain came, and one wonders how many runs Nabi being starved of the strike took off the Knight Riders’ adjusted target.

Nabi sparked hope with the ball, trapping Lendl Simmons LBW for a second-ball duck. Munro though was positive, sweeping for four then a Hero Maximum to get the Knight Riders up and running. Scott Kuggeleijn didn’t help matters for the Zouks, firing down five wides in an over that went for 11.

Kesrick Williams was on the money, as both Munro and emergency opener Tion Webster found long-on to leave the Knight Riders three down and with Pollard and Darren Bravo yet to face a ball.

Pollard though didn’t last long - he got off the mark with a classy flick for four off Chemar Holder, but the young Bajan responded with one that jagged back off the seam to take an inside edge that was very well caught by Fletcher. After four overs, the Knight Riders needed 35 off 30 balls but were four down.

Nabi returned, but Bravo and Tim Seifert managed five singles off him to keep the Knight Riders ahead of the DLS par. Seifert had only faced three balls in the whole tournament before today but was busy and inventive. A flick over his shoulder off Kuggeleijn raced for four, and the Knight Riders needed 22 off the last three overs.

Darren Bravo brought up a milestone of his own off Williams, his 100th Hero CPL six, to reduce the equation to a run a ball. Holder was excellent at the death in the Zouks’ own DLS victory against the Guyana Amazon Warriors and was trusted with the penultimate over here, but Bravo hammered Hero Maximum no.101 to make victory a formality. Seifert drove for four to finish it with an over to spare and send the Knight Riders clear at the top of the table.

Summary: (Trinbago Knight Riders 75/4 (DM Bravo 23*, Seifert 18*, Munro 17; Williams 2/17, Nabi 1/15, C Holder 1/24) beat St Lucia Zouks 111/6 (Nabi 30*, Najibullah 21, Cornwall 18; DJ Bravo 2/7, Tambe 1/15, Pierre 1/19, Fawad 1/21) by 6 wickets (DLS target 72 off 9 overs)

 Upcoming Fixture: Wednesday 26 August - Match 14: Barbados Tridents v Jamaica Tallawahs (5:30 pm), Queen’s Park Oval

Champions Barbados Tridents open defence against SKN Patriots as CPL bowls off August 18

In the opening match on the day, 2019 runners up Guyana Amazon Warriors will take on three-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders.

All 33 matches will be played in Trinidad & Tobago, with all matches taking place across two stadia and behind closed doors. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba will host 23 games, including the semi-finals and final, while the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain will host the other 10 matches.

The tournament will take place behind closed doors in a bio-secure environment with a series of stringent protocols in place to protect those involved in the tournament and the wider population from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“This year will be a different CPL, but the standard will be higher than ever,” said Damien O’Donohoe, the Hero CPL’s CEO.

“We have seen the appetite for live sport since it has returned after a prolonged absence, and the interest in CPL will be higher than ever with it being the first franchise T20 tournament to return.”

Meanwhile, fans will have to wait until game 22 for a repeat of last year’s final with the Tridents taking on the Amazon Warriors.

CPL’s COO, Pete Russell expressed gratitude to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for hosting the tournament that had faced the possibility of postponement because of the pandemic.

“We would like to express our gratitude to the government of Trinidad & Tobago for helping us to put on this tournament in such difficult circumstances,” he said.

“We are delighted that we are able to deliver a tournament that is ensuring the safety of the public and the players and that will be of such a high standard.” 

Hero CPL 2020 Fixtures:

 Brian Lara Cricket Academy

Tues August 18: 10 am Trinbago Knight Riders v Guyana Amazon Warriors

5:30pm: Barbados Tridents v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Wed Aug.19: 10 am Jamaica Tallawahs v St Lucia Zouks

5:30pm: Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Thurs Aug 20: 10 am St Lucia Zouks v Barbados Tridents

5:30pm: Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs

Sat Aug 22: 10 am St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v St Lucia Zouks

5:30pm: Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs

Sun Aug 23: 10am Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents

5:30pm: Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks

Queen’s Park Oval

Tues August 25: 10am St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Barbados Tridents

5:30pm: Jamaica Tallawahs v Guyana Amazon Warriors

Wed August 26: 10am St Lucia Zouks v Trinbago Knight Riders

 5:30pm: Barbados Tridents v Jamaica Tallawahs

Thurs August 27: 10am St Lucia Zouks v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

 5:30pm: Guyana Amazon Warriors v Trinbago Knight Riders

Sat August 29: 10am Barbados Tridents v Trinbago Knight Riders

5:30pm: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Jamaica Tallawahs

Sun August 30: 10am Barbados Tridents v St Lucia Zouks

5:30pm: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Guyana Amazon Warriors

Brian Lara Cricket Academy

Tues September 1: 10am Jamaica Tallawahs v Trinbago Knight Riders

 5:30pm: Guyana Amazon Warriors v Barbados Tridents

Wed September 2, 10am Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

5:30pm: St Lucia Zouks v Guyana Amazon Warriors

Thurs September 3: 10am Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

5:30pm: Barbados Tridents v Guyana Amazon Warriors

Sat September 5: 10am Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Zouks

5:30pm: Jamaica Tallawahs v Barbados Tridents

Sun September 6: 10am St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Trinbago Knight Riders

5:30pm: St Lucia Zouks v Jamaica Tallawahs

Tues September 8: TBC

Semi final 1 (1st v 4th)

Tues 8 September, TBC

Semi final 2 (2nd vs 3rd)

Thurs 10 September, TBC

Final

CPL Draft: Defending champions claim prize scalp, Rashid Khan

The Tridents were pulling off a coup on last year’s beaten finalists the Guyana Amazon Warriors, for whom Rashid would have last played for in the CPL.

Rashid will be joined by a team similar to the one that claimed the CPL title in 2020, as the Tridents have retained Jason Holder, Harry Gurney, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Hayden Walsh Jr, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Raymon Reifer and Justin Greaves.

In yesterday’s CPL draft, the Tridents also picked untested Pakistan medium-fast bowler Shayan Jahangir, Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz and re-drafted Kyle Mayers.

In addition, they have also picked up powerful English opener Alex Hales, despite a relatively lean time with the team last season.

Hales will be joined by new signing Australian middle-order batsman Marcus Stoinis and West Indies under-19 standout Nyeem Young.

Barbados Tridents: Rashid Khan, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Hayden Walsh Jr, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Raymon Reifer, Kyle Mayers, Joshia Bishop, Nyeem Young, Justin Greaves, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Shayan Jahangir.

CPL teams unhappy with TKR ‘advantage’

The grievance appears to have been caused because local players from the TKR did not join the bio-secure bubble at the Hylton Hotel, continuing to train.

The first teams allowed to train were announced on Tuesday with the St Lucia Zouks and the Knight Riders getting the go ahead. According to a release from the CPL, local players had gone through the mandatory testing process and would this week enter the bubble.

“Everyone should have been part of the bubble from the first day to “guarantee” that the health and safety of all stakeholders is not “compromised”, read a social media post from Zouks skipper Daren Sammy.

"How can everybody else be in a bubble no access to training or practice games while others on the outside in a COVID infected area be training and playing practice games. Then allowed to join the bubble without self-isolation," read another from the Zouks skipper.

According to reports, defending champions, Barbados Tridents have also not taken kindly to the difference being shown to the local TKR players and asked why it was that all players from the franchise were not asked to enter the bubble and undergo the mandatory weeklong quarantine everybody else did.

But according to Michael Hall, operations director of the CPL, it was necessary to take precautions to ensure local players entering the bubble were not a threat to the environment’s bio-security.

Defending champions Tridents rally from the brink to snatch win from Patriots

Sheldon Cottrell struck with his fourth ball, bowling Johnson Charles as he tried to whip to leg. He pinged Corey Anderson on the head first ball then had him caught at point by Evin Lewis, and when Hope sliced Tanvir to the same fielder the champions were reeling at 8/3 in the third over. Their response was spectacular.

Kyle Mayers took a Tanvir over for 14, and Jason Holder joined in by effortlessly flicking a Hero Maximum over square leg off Alzarri Joseph. Mayers pulled powerfully for two more sixes of his own, and from a hopeless position, the Tridents found themselves 51/3 at the end of the GuardianLife Powerplay.

Holder flicked then drove Ish Sodhi for six, bringing up a 50 partnership off just 25 balls. But the game swung back the Patriots’ way once more in the space of two balls.

First Mayers crashed Emrit to deep cover, then Evin Lewis pulled off a direct hit to send back Jonathan Carter. The Tridents had gone from 8/3 to 69/3 to 69/5 as the game continued to move at a breathless pace. Raymon Reifer picked out a lone boundary fielder off Emrit, and Ben Dunk then held a beauty off Sodhi to dismiss the well-set Holder, but here the Tridents’ deep batting lineup came into its own.

Ashley Nurse swung Joseph straight to Lynn, but Rashid Khan had jaws hitting floors with an astonishing helicopter flick for six. Santner fell timing a ball sweetly but straight to the fielder to leave Rashid batting with the capable Hayden Walsh Jr at no.11.

Tanvir and Cottrell were just as impressive at the death as at the top, going for just seven off their combined fourth overs, but Rashid showed his power and craft to plunder a couple of late boundaries to drag the Tridents over 150.

Walsh Jr let Lewis off the hook on zero, dropping a simple chance at point. But Santner kept things tight with the first maiden of Hero CPL 2020, Holder kept the pressure on, and that pressure told as Lynn carved Santner to Walsh Jr who held on this time.

With Lewis struggling, the Patriots crawled to 33/1 off the Powerplay. Rashid’s first ball was loose and Lewis crashed it for four, but the Afghan showed yet another facet of his game to run out the dangerous Trinidadian. Joshua da Silva, promoted to three on T20 debut, crashed a drive into the bowlers’ wicket, and Rashid reacted first to knock out the remaining stumps and catch Lewis short.

Dunk powered Nurse and Walsh Jr for a boundary each to keep things moving, then sent Reifer to the fence and then over it for the Patriots’ first Hero Maximum, leaving the Patriots 81/2 at the Angostura LLB drinks breaks.

Da Silva picked up a few boundaries off Rashid but struggled to score above a run a ball. Then Santner returned in style - Dunk went for power but toe-ended to Mayers at long-on. Holder kept his bowlers going in one-over spells, never allowing Da Silva and new Patriots signing Denesh Ramdin to settle.

Nurse almost pulled off an unbelievable catch in Santner’s last over, but Rashid was not to be denied. Walsh Jr came up with a true Republic Bank Classic Catch at deep midwicket to send Ramdin packing and the googly next ball was too good for Jahmar Hamilton. He couldn’t pick up a second Hero CPL hat-trick, but the damage was done.

 Da Silva kept swinging but found no timing or placement, and though Tanvir demonstrated his power with a pull for four off Reifer, even with a no-ball, a free-hit and a monster six onto the bank from Tanvir, Mayers had enough to defend off the last over. With only five wickets down, and from the start they made with the ball, the Patriots will be wondering how they let this one get away.

 Summary: Barbados Tridents 153/9 (Holder 38, Mayers 37, Rashid 26*; Emrit 2/16, Cottrell 2/16, Tanvir 2/25) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 147/5 (Da Silva 41*, Dunk 34, Lynn 19; Santner 2/18, Rashid 2/27) by 6 runs

 Upcoming Fixture: Wednesday 19 August - Match 3: Jamaica Tallawahs v St Lucia Zouks (10am), Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

England opener Alex Hales happy to be back with CPL champions Barbados Tridents

The English opener is very excited to be back at the CPL but is conscious that he wants to improve on the performances he put in during last season.

“I am really happy. Obviously last year, personally I didn’t perform anywhere near the level I wanted to and I know I am capable of, so for them to put their faith in me again is really, really pleasing. When you win a title like that, I guess you want to keep as many of the guys together,” he said.

“We had such a good environment there, led incredibly well by Jason Holder and Phi Simmons. The combination of those two was so chilled out which is exactly what you need in T20 cricket. I am really looking forward to it; CPL is a great competition and held in high regard around the world in terms of standard. To get another crack, another bite of the cherry, is a great opportunity.”

Hales was really impressed with the CPL in his first season at the tournament and says he would like to be involved for as long as he can be. He says the talent and passion on show are fantastic to be around.

“Some of the Caribbean players are some of the most talented cricketers I have been around anywhere in the world. Also, the love of the game, the team Barbados had was something I had never quite experienced,” he said.

“The highs of winning games, and then we lost a couple of games and everyone was devastated. The love and passion that everyone has there is second-to-none. Personally, if I can improve on what I did last year it is a tournament I would love to be involved with for the rest of my career.”

The Tridents have retained the core of their squad from the 2019 season and Hales says that finding that right balance between experience and youth was one of the pillars of the team’s success last year.

“From what I have found playing for different franchises, you need the right blend of experience and youth, and the more I have played the more I think experience plays a part in winning trophies. The young guns will win you games here and there along the way, which are important, but I think you really do need a mixture of experience when it comes to the pressure games,” he said.

“That is something we spoke about a lot in the Barbados team, it is keeping that cool head. I think experience when it comes to the pressure moments and the big games in tournaments really helps you win those games at the right time.”

Guyana Amazon Warriors buries Tridents' defence of CPL title

Early boundaries from Chandrapaul Hemraj meant Shimron Hetmyer and Ross Taylor could take the team home in cruise control, and the Amazon Warriors ended the league stage on a roll with four wins from four.

Romario Shepherd put paid to a promising start with two wickets in two balls. Charles chipped tamely to Taylor at point, but there was nothing tame about the dismissal of pinch-hitter Rashid Khan, as a fierce pull was brilliantly caught by Brandon King who ran 20 yards to his left from deep square leg and dived full-length. 

 Greaves survived the hat-trick ball then closed the over with a four. Brooks hit a four off Imran Tahir but fell softly to Green, albeit with Taylor taking a good catch at short midwicket, and the Tridents reached the Powerplay at 28/3. That became 28/4 the very next ball when Tahir bowled Greaves, beating him all ends up with a googly.

Kyle Mayers launched a straight Hero Maximum off Sinclair but was undone by wrist-spin again, skying a Tahir googly to give Hemraj an easy catch at mid-off. The implosion continued as Tridents captain Jason Holder gifted Green a catch at midwicket off the second ball after the drinks break, Shepherd the bowler, and a second poor batting effort in a row by the Tridents against the Amazon Warriors left them 39/6 after 11 overs.

Mitchell Santner and Nyeem Young milked Sinclair for eight, and while Naveen went for just one on his return, Young ended a 37 ball boundary drought with a classy Hero Maximum over off Green. Santner pulled Shepherd for four, and after 15 overs the Tridents were 65/6. Sinclair ended the mini-recovery, bowling Santner with a quicker ball and celebrating by adding an extra flip or two to his post-wicket routine.

Young should have fallen to Naveen, King making good ground on the leg-side again but this time dropping the catch, but it mattered little as he soon missed a sweep off another Tahir googly and was bowled. Tahir ended his spell atop the Hero CPL wicket-takers table, and the Tridents ended the 18th over at 78/8.

Raymon Reifer pulled a Naveen slower ball through midwicket, and although the young Afghan ended wicketless he will bowl far worse spells that look better on the scorecard. Shepherd once again showed off his effective slingy yorker in the 20th over that went for just five. The innings ended with a run-out, and for the third time in Hero CPL 2020, the Tridents had failed to make three figures as a team.

Santner struck the second ball of the chase, bowling King with an arm ball that in effect swung into the right-hander. A tight over from Holder ensured Hemraj started slowly but got himself going with a powerful slog-swept Hero Maximum and a whipped four off Santner. He should have fallen to the New Zealander, the usually faultless Hayden Walsh Jr dropping a catch, but he continued his attack off Rashid with two fours and a six. After four overs, the Amazon Warriors were 34/1 and the required run rate was just three and a half an over.

Holder cleverly angled the ball across Hemraj, who couldn’t resist a pull shot and was well caught by Young at third man. Sherfane Rutherford, in for the rested Keemo Paul, got a promotion to four, but lasted only three balls before edging Holder to Ashley Nurse at slip. Holder took a heavy fall but completed a wicket-maiden, leaving the Amazon Warriors 40/3 after seven overs.

Hetmyer started watchfully, his first boundary not coming till his 12th ball and that too off an edge past new keeper Charles. Pooran faced five dot balls and tried to get off the mark with a boundary, but toe-ended Reifer straight up in the air to give Brooks a simple catch at cover. Taylor joined Hetmyer with the score 49/4 and a brief to calm things down.


Young started with a chest-high full-toss that was rightly called a no-ball and was lucky not to be called for another with the free hit, Taylor pulling a suspiciously high delivery for four. Hetmyer again edged past the keeper, and he and Taylor nudged and guided the Amazon Warriors to 67/4 at halfway needing just 23 more to win.

Holder could have ended his spell with a third wicket, but Taylor’s edge flew wide of slip, and Rashid was nudged for six off two overs to leave just 12 to win. Hetmyer finally hit his first boundary off Santner thanks to indifferent boundary fielding from the visibly injured Holder, Taylor had time to practice his forward defence against his countryman, and Hetmyer for the second day in a row hit the winning runs.

The Tridents now hold the unwanted record of being the first Hero CPL defending champions not to make the knockouts, and with the Amazon Warriors now guaranteed to avoid the Trinbago Knight Riders in the semi-finals, a sixth final is very much on the cards.

Summary: (Guyana Amazon Warriors 90/4 (Hetmyer 32*, Hemraj 29, Taylor 16*; Holder 2/10, Reifer 1/16, Santner 1/25) beat Barbados Tridents 89/9 (Young 18, Santner 18, Charles 10; Tahir 3/12, Shepherd 3/22, Green 1/17, Sinclair 1/23) by 6 wickets)

Hero CPL franchises reveal their 2021 team rosters

Included in the squads are a number of overseas signings that include Shakib al Hasan, Chris Morris, Faf du Plessis, Matthew Wade, Sandeep Lamichhane and Shoaib Malik. There are also spots for talented Pakistani players Haider Ali, Azam Khan and Usman Qadir and Englishman Samit Patel, who will be playing at his first Hero CPL.

The full squads are listed below:

The Jamaica Tallawahs – Andre Russell, Shakib al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Haider Ali, Chadwick Walton, Fidel Edwards, Qais Ahmad, Jason Mohammed, Migael Pretorius, Kennar Lewis, Veerasammy Permaul, Abhijai Mansingh, Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, Ryan Persaud.

St Lucia Zouks – Faf Du Plessis, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Matthew Wade, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Usman Qadir, Samit Patel, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glenn, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph.

Trinbago Knight Riders – Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Sandeep Lamichhane, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Sikandar Raza, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julian, Ali Khan.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots – Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Winindu Hasaranga, Devon Thomas, Rayad Emrit, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Colin Archibald, Jon-Russ Jagesar, Dominic Drakes, Joshua Da Silva, Mikyle Louis.

Barbados Tridents – Chris Morris, Jason Holder, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Amir, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Oshane Thomas, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr, Azam Khan, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Ashley Nurse, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, Samit Patel.

Guyana Amazon Warriors – Nicholas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohammad Hafeez, Brandon King, Naveen Ul Haq, Romario Shepherd, Waqar Salamkheil, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Niall Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd.

The 2021 Hero CPL bowls off at Warner Park on August 28 with the final set for September 19.

Holder buoyed as defending champs Tridents retain nine from 2019 CPL season

The 2019 champions have moved to retain big names like Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Raymon Reifer.

Spinner Hayden Walsh Jr., Ashley Nurse and Johnathan Carter have also been retained for the new season. Emerging player Nyeem Young and Justin Greaves were also retained.

International retentions and signings will be announced at a later date. This year, teams can retain as many players from their 2019 squads as they wish. They could also transfer players to other teams and sign emerging players.

“We are really excited to build on last year's championship win and it is great that we have been able to retain the core of our squad for this season,” Holder said.

“Combined with the international players that we are planning to add to the squad we are looking forward to defending our championship.”

The CPL is scheduled to take place between August 19 and September 26.

However, the tournament organisers are currently watching the current situation with COVID-19 closely and are liaising with medical advisors and governments.

The CPL said a decision on whether the tournament can proceed as planned, or at a different time, will be made as soon as possible.

Jason Holder, Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers among nine retained by Barbados Tridents for 2021 CPL

 The Tridents will welcome back the world’s number one rated Test all-rounder and Tridents’ captain Jason Holder, along with fellow Barbadians Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Nyeem Young and Joshua Bishop.

 In addition to the local playing contingent, the Tridents have retained opening batsman Johnson Charles and leg spinner Hayden Walsh Jr who was the player of the tournament when the Tridents claimed the Hero CPL title in 2019.

 Tridents have eight spots left to fill in their squad and the remaining players will be announced in the coming weeks.

 Kailash Pardasani, Barbados Tridents Co-CEO, said: “We are really excited to welcome back our retained players and especially look forward to making Barbados and all Tridents’ fans very proud in our upcoming 2021 season. Our primary driving factor is the Barbados Tridents family which comprises our players, their extended families and all fans across the globe. This together with our love and passion for the game of cricket will enable us to bring the Hero CPL 2021 title back home as we did in 2019.“

Late-innings big hitting from Pollard, Bravo pushes TKR out of Tridents reach

Choosing to bowl, the Tridents started well - the first boundary didn’t come until the third over, and Narine didn’t get off the mark until the fifth. Simmons hit the next ball for a Hero Maximum and then clubbed Jason Holder to mid-on. It took Colin Munro to kickstart the innings, taking 18 off Kyle Mayers, including a glorious flick over mid-on for six, and the Knight Riders ended the Powerplay at 45 for 1.

Ashley Nurse put the pressure back on, but Munro counter-attacked against Rashid Khan, clobbering a sweep into the stands. Narine, at the other end, should have fallen to Nurse on 6 but was dropped by Shai Hope. The drop was not costly, however, as Reifer dramatically splattered Narine’s stumps to end a stuttering inning.

At the drinks break, the Knight Riders were a subdued 63 for 2. Munro brought up 50 off just 29 balls, then fell to a fantastic Rashid catch to give Nurse a deserved wicket off the last ball of his spell. But that was as good as it got for the Tridents with the ball.

Rashid lost his line to the left-handed Bravo, going for 12 including a set of five wides. Hayden Walsh Jr started with two full tosses, and while Pollard was almost bowled by the first one, he dismissed the second for a Hero Maximum. Bravo punished Rashid for going too full with a slog-swept six.

Mitchell Santner couldn’t contain Bravo, who clubbed 10 off the first two balls of the over, or Pollard, who hit an extraordinary one-handed Hero Maximum over the sightscreen. Pollard repeated the trick to end a Reifer over that started with Bravo hammering a full toss for six, and, suddenly the Knight Riders were 155 for 3 off 18.

Holder proved expensive in the 19th, with 3 wides punctuating Pollard hammering a Hero Maximum and Bravo essaying a classy lofted drive. In the 20th, Bravo found and then cleared the midwicket fence to take himself to 50, and the Knight Riders to an imposing total. The last four overs went at a bruising 17.25 an over, and the Tridents were left wondering if they’d got their bowling strategies right.

The Tridents had to go hard and Johnson Charles did exactly that, targeting Jayden Seales to the tune of 20 runs to start the chase in overdrive. It was a measure of how concerned Pollard was that he went to DJ Bravo in the Powerplay.

It was a dramatic over - brother Darren dropped Charles off the first ball, ensuring the wait for a 500th T20 wicket for DJ went on, and the Tridents opener rubbed it in with two boundaries. Hope was very much the support act, ending the Powerplay at 9 off 11 to Charles’ 46 off 25. Remarkably, those 46 came entirely between long leg and midwicket.

But Narine, Ali Khan, and Fawad Ahmed slowed scoring significantly, and the pressure told as Charles lost his off-stump to Fawad just after reaching his 50. Corey Anderson’s horror start to Hero CPL 2020 continued as he was run out by Seales for 2, and after a promising start, the Tridents were falling away.
Bravo pulled off a good low catch to dismiss Mayers off Khary Pierre. Hope picked up a four off Pierre and a massive Hero Maximum off Fawad, but the leg spinner responded well to limit the damage and send the rate above 12.

Lewis and Dunk blast SKN Patriots to victory over Tridents and first win of the season

Patriots captain Rayad Emrit bowled first, perhaps unsure of the par score at Queen’s Park Oval. While Sohail Tanvir was wayward, the recalled Alzarri Joseph found some accuracy he’d lacked in previous games.

Shai Hope again started slowly and was still under a run a ball at the end of the Powerplay. Jaggesar could have dismissed him three times, but the off-spinner got a reward with the wicket of Johnson Charles, who missed a sweep and was out LBW.

Hope continued to eat up deliveries before Jaggesar finally got him, Emrit taking the catch at deep midwicket to leave the Tridents 59/2 at halfway. Kyle Mayers seemed unfazed, and first over after the drinks break he took ten off Imran Khan, including a big Hero Maximum.

Mayers and Jason Holder saw off Jaggesar’s excellent spell, and Mayers attacked immediately when Tanvir returned. He got a fierce pull shot away but fell next ball slashing hard at one wide outside off, Ramdin taking a smart catch.

Holder fell in a flukey manner - Tanvir got a hand on a straight drive and the batsman had no chance of getting back. The Tridents sent Ashley Nurse up the order to join Corey Anderson, who was more comfortable now he’d been moved into the middle-order and slog-swept Imran for six to end the over.

The 15th from Emrit was tight, but Joseph returned with five wides and the over went for 12. Nurse and Anderson both walloped Tanvir for Hero Maximums and Nurse hit a four to cap a 21-run last over off Tanvir.

Nurse punished Joseph with a superb straight-six, and while a good diving catch from Lewis put an end to the Bajan’s exploits, that rapid-fire stand of 56 off just 29 balls had the Tridents well set to dip for the line at 136/5 off 18.

 Anderson greeted Emrit’s return with a Hero Maximum over long-on but then chipped a full toss to cover. Imran deserves credit, as his the 20th over went for just six, but even so, the Tridents will have been the happier at the innings break.

After a tight first over from Holder, Chris Lynn swung a Mitchell Santner full toss for six. In the third over Holder was not so accurate - he strayed leg-side and Lewis clipped for four, he bowled length and Lewis lofted for six. Santner found some turn, but two boundaries meant the Patriots were off to a flyer.

Rashid Khan changed that first ball - Lynn had no answer to the googly and fell LBW. Joshua da Silva edged a Test style Holder leg-cutter to the keeper, and a wicket-maiden meant the Patriots reached the Powerplay at 41/2.

Lewis took a liking to Hayden Walsh Jr, hitting four of his first eight balls for six to bring up 50 off just 28 balls. With the Patriots ahead of the rate and just two down Holder had to bring on Rashid, and while the Afghan went for just three the Patriots were well set at halfway at 74/2.

Raymon Reifer’s tight over gave cover for West Indies’ U19 star Nyeem Young to bowl his first senior professional over, and the youngster went for just three. Lewis was lucky Reifer couldn’t hold a tough caught-and-bowled chance, but there was nothing lucky about the Hero Maximum next ball.

The subdued Denesh Ramdin finally hit his first four, and the Patriots seemed to have got going again with a 13 run over. But back came Rashid again with a tight over, and good bowling from Young and brilliant boundary fielding from Santner meant the Patriots needed 46 off the last five overs.

With Ramdin sluggish, Lewis had to break free off Rashid. He did, just - a toe-end went incredibly high and just landed safely, but the Afghan’s last ball ended up on the roof of the Learie Constantine stand as the Patriots stayed in touch.

Mayers for the 17th was a gamble, but he denied Lewis the strike and a simple catch for Walsh Jr finally ended Ramdin’s stuttering innings of 20 off 32. Dunk at least ensured Lewis was on strike come the start of the 18th with 31 still needed.

Lewis heaped the pressure on Young with a six, but the debutant recovered to leave the Patriots needing 10 RPO with two overs to go. The pressure finally told on Lewis as he picked out Rashid with nine balls to go and 20 still to win, but he had done as much as he could.

Support finally came from Dunk, who found the fence with a deft reverse flick, meaning the inexperienced Young had 13 to defend. While the debutant bowled to his field, he missed his length twice and Dunk showed his class in franchise cricket to get the Patriots on the board at the fourth time of asking.

Summary: (St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 152/4 (Lewis 89, Dunk 22*, Ramdin 20; Mayers 2/14, Holder 1/18, Rashid 1/24 beat Barbados Tridents 151/7 (Anderson 31, Hope 29, Nurse 25; Jaggesar 2/17, Emrit 1/23, Joseph 1/32, Imran 1/36) beat) by 6 wickets)



Upcoming Fixture: Tuesday 25 August - Match 12: Jamaica Tallawahs v Guyana Amazon Warriors (5:30 pm), 4:30 in Jamaica at Queen’s Park Oval

Mayers masterclass leaves woeful Tallawahs well short

All had looked lost after Mujeeb ur Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane had worked their magic, but Mayers smashed 29 off a Carlos Brathwaite over that proved absolutely pivotal.

Mujeeb did for both Tridents openers - an off-break turned big to trap Shai Hope LBW and a carrom ball to Johnson Charles took the edge for Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell to take a good catch at slip.

Veerasammy Permaul, replacing Russell, started well until Kyle Mayers lofted him for six over extra cover. Mayers repeated the trick off Edwards and the Tridents reached the Powerplay at 37/2.

Holder lifted Permaul onto the rope at long-on, and Mayers took a liking to Powell in an over that went for 17. Brathwaite didn’t escape punishment as Mayers timed him over point, bringing up a 50 partnership off just 29 balls. Powell went to Lamichhane, whose googlies restricted Mayers and Holder to three off the 10th over.

At halfway, the Tridents were 79/2.

Twenty balls later, that was 90/6. Brathwaite bounced out Holder, Rashid Khan’s promotion lasted two balls as he sliced a Lamichhane leg-break to backward point, Mujeeb skidded a carrom ball onto Corey Anderson’s stumps and Lamichhane beat Ashley Nurse’s slog-sweep with a googly.

Mujeeb could have had Mayers had a close LBW shout been given or had Glenn Phillips held a catch, but with the Afghan and Nepalese combining for 5/30, little did we know how crucial that would prove.

Brathwaite disappeared to all parts as Mayers launched four Hero Maximums, and even good death bowling saw the Tridents end on a competitive looking total.

Santner started superbly, bowling Phillips as part of a wicket-maiden. Chadwick Walton flayed Holder for four and pulled him for a Hero Maximum, but the Tridents captain nicked him off with a Test match-style seaming beauty. Santner followed up with another fine over, and the Tallawahs were 13/2 after three.

Walsh Jr went for just three runs, all due to misfields including a dropped catch. Blackwood’s first boundary was a thick inside edge off Holder, and the captain’s extra bounce did for his opposite number Rovman Powell who gloved to the keeper.

At 22/3 off 5 overs, the Tallawahs were precariously placed, and that was before Rashid Khan came on for the last over of the Powerplay. The required run rate was now approaching nine an over.

Walsh Jr spilled a tough caught-and-bowled off Blackwood, but finally got his first wicket of Hero CPL 2020 as Asif holed out to long-off to plunge the Tallawahs into even deeper strife. The leg-spinner celebrated his first wicket of this CPL season with a huge roar of delight.

Ashley Nurse went for just five off two overs, and Walsh Jr beat Blackwood on both edges to leave the Tallawahs 36/4 needing 11 an over off the last 10 with three overs of Rashid still to face. In a familiar tale, the Tallawahs had failed to score off 44 of the first 60 balls.

Things seemed to be picking up after the break. Bonner pulled Walsh Jr for the first boundary in 37 balls, Blackwood joined with a Hero Maximum to put a slight dent in Walsh Jr’s figures, and the two scored off every ball of Rashid’s second over including a boundary.

But Santner’s return did the trick. Blackwood hit one big Hero Maximum over the sightscreen, but a slower ball deceived him into holing out to long-on. Rashid capped a horrible night for Brathwaite, pinning him LBW with a fast googly, and after a mini-recovery the Tallawahs were 68/6 off 14 and needed 13.5 an over.

Santner finished a brilliant spell - 20 off his 24 balls were dot balls and a Hero Maximum was his only boundary conceded. Bonner hammered Raymon Reifer for a Hero Maximum, but Permaul took nine balls to get off the mark, and with the Tallawahs needing 17.25 an over, Bonner took it upon himself to farm the strike.

Rashid ended the Tallawahs’ last faint hope, as Bonner tried to pull an unpullable ball and Anderson held the top-edge. Mujeeb deposited his countryman for a pair of Hero Maximums, but even so the required run rate at the end of the over was higher than when it started.

Mujeeb continued his fun with a reverse hook off Nyeem Young, but the youngster made a contribution taking an excellent catch diving forward at deep point to give Reifer the wicket of the scratchy Permaul.

Reifer made it two when Mujeeb tried to reverse sweep a delivery on middle stump, and in the end the only thing missing for the Tridents was a wicket for Young. Russell or no Russell, the Tallawahs batters need to find some answers fast.

One game, one over doesn’t determine who I am'- WI spinner Walsh jr confident despite poor CPL showing

The 26-year-old burst on the scene during the 2019 CPL season, when he was the tournament’s most lethal bowler with best match figures of 5 for 19 and a total of 22 wickets.

Walsh struggled to replicate that form this season, managing just 7 wickets in 10 matches, at an economy rate of 7.65.  Notably, the bowler suffered a brutal onslaught from a rampaging Kieron Pollard, which saw him end with figures of 44 for 1 in that match.  Nonetheless, Walsh was selected as part of the T20 squad for the tour of New Zealand next month.

The bowler, however, remains confident of making an impact, perhaps as much as he did in India last year where he was decisive in the second game.

“I would agree that the results didn’t quite go my way, but I was still quite satisfied with the way I was consistent, but as I said, you can’t win all of them all of the time so it really was a good learning opportunity and a good learning tournament,” Walsh told the Antigua Observer.

“That one game or that one over doesn’t determine who I am as a leg-spinner on a whole.  I always try to get back to my feet because my father always taught me that cricket and life go hand in hand.  So, it is just like life, when you fall down today, we still have to get back up the next day and keep going again.”

Phillips, Reifer anchor Tridents in comfortable win over Tallawahs

The Royals won the toss and opted to bat first and Glenn Phillips ensured that they put a competitive total on the board with an unbeaten 56 from 46 balls.

In reply, the Tallawahs chase was over before it really began as they lost four wickets in the PowerPlay and as a result never kept pace with the run rate.

The Royals opted to make a change to their opening pair – with Shai Hope partnering with Johnson Charles and it appeared to work with them putting on a 32-run partnership from 20 balls.

However, once Hope was dismissed it sparked a flurry of wickets that left Barbados teetering at 48 for 3 at the end of PowerPlay. It should have been even worse but Haider Ali dropped Glenn Phillips when he was on 2 runs.

 Phillips punished that mistake in the back end of the Barbados innings hitting a half-century with 56 runs from 46 balls and he was ably assisted by Raymon Reifer as they put on a partnership worth 79 runs.

161 always looked like 15 runs too many and the Tallawahs got their chase off to the worst possible start losing four wickets inside the PowerPlay.

Some good bowling and electric fielding by Hayden Walsh Jr had the Tallawahs on the back foot throughout.

Carlos Braithwaite and Shamarh Brooks threatened to bring them back into the game with a 66-run partnership but a double strike from Reifer got rid of Braithwaite and Andre Russell in the same over.

Despite some late blows from Miguel Pretorius that made the last few overs interesting there was always too much for the Tallawahs to do once Russell had departed.

Pollard pummels Tridents to keep Knight Riders unbeaten record intact

Pollard smashed nine Hero Maximums in his 72 off 28 balls, and though Khary Pierre still had work to do to finish the job, it was the Knight Riders captain who made the game his own.

Johnson Charles started aggressively, cutting Akeal Hosein and whipping Pierre for four then lofting Hosein for six. But Hosein struck in his second over, Shai Hope caught at slip trying to cut a quicker ball, just before rain briefly held things up.

Charles took another boundary off Hosein, taking the Tridents to 37 for 1 off the Powerplay. Fawad Ahmed and Pollard kept Kyle Mayers quiet, but Charles swept well off Fawad, paddling for four and lofting for six. At halfway, Charles had 44 of the Tridents’ 59 for 1.

Pollard gave Tion Webster his first T20 over, and while Webster started well it eventually went for nine. Mayers sent a Seales full toss for six, but Charles then steered another full toss straight to point.

Pierre could have dismissed Tridents captain Jason Holder but Webster dropped a low chance at long-off. Mayers finally got hold of Fawad for a pulled four, and after 14 overs the Tridents were 92 for 2.  Hosein though recovered from Sikandar Raza dropping a simple catch off Mayers to bowl Holder as he tried to launch him over midwicket.

Mayers and Corey Anderson scrambled eight off Pollard, but Raza deceived both with drift and turn. Mayers was caught at long-off and Anderson stumped to leave the Tridents on 107 for 5 in the 17th over.

Ashley Nurse and Rashid Khan responded emphatically. Nurse swept then cut Raza for four to get off the mark, and Rashid smacked Fawad for four then pulled him for a Hero Maximum. Fawad though recovered to dismiss Rashid, Raza taking a diving catch at cover. Nurse brilliantly manoeuvred a Seales yorker over point for six, but then a pull went high rather than long and Seifer held the skier.

Pollard gave himself the 20th, and Mitchell Santner pulled him for a wonderful Hero Maximum. The captain recovered to go for just singles off the rest, but the Tridents had what looked a good score on the board.

At the start of the Knight Riders chase, Webster drilled Santner for four to get off the mark, but Holder’s extra bounce did for both him, splicing a pull to mid-on, and the dangerous Colin Munro, edging a cut to Ashley Nurse at slip. At 6 for 2, the Knight Riders were in danger of feeding after just two overs.

The Tridents went to the off-spin of Nurse to target the left-handed Darren Bravo, but the right-handed Lendl Simmons got himself on strike and hammered two contrasting Hero Maximums - the first got barely head high, the second almost cleared the stand.

Holder called on Rashid, and the Afghan answered with a wicket-maiden. Bravo survived an LBW shout playing forward but then fell in that manner playing back. The Knight Riders had stumbled to 27 for 3 off the Powerplay.

Hayden Walsh Jr started nicely, and Raymon Reifer struck with a cutter that Seifert edged to the keeper. Hosein guided a four past third man, but at 48 for 4, the Knight Riders were well behind the game at halfway.

Santner conceded just two, nearly having Hosein stumped twice. Off the returning Rashid, Simmons barely cleared deep midwicket with a sweep and Hosein was lucky his loft didn’t carry to long-on. But the luck did not last, as Hosein sliced a Walsh Jr googly far enough for Holder to take low at long-off. Thus, when Pollard strode to the middle, his team needed 87 off 39 balls.

The captain served notice of what was to come, launching Walsh into the scoreboard first ball. Holder brought back Rashid, but Pollard attacked him too, hammering a flat Hero Maximum over long-off. Simmons then ran past one to give Hope an easy stumping off Santner. Rashid gave away only four off his last over, and with four overs left the Knight Riders needed 66.

Amid sending Walsh Jr to all parts of the Queen’s Park Oval for four sixes in one game-turning over, Pollard turned down a single, and next over Raza sacrificed himself to ensure he was run out and Pollard regained strike. Reifer started the 18th well, but Pollard somehow managed two fours.

The Knight Riders still needed 31 off 12, but Pollard punished Holder for missing his yorker with two brutal Hero Maximums. Reifer got the nod for the 20th, with 15 to defend, and Pollard again started with a six. Holder appeared to have swung the game back the Tridents’ way, running out Pollard as he desperately sought a second, but Reifer’s length deserted him and Pierre kept his cool, levering a full toss over point for a score-leveling Hero Maximum.

The Tridents were done, and the winning runs came next ball with a slice past third man. The Knight Riders surely cannot afford to be without players of the class of Narine and DJ Bravo for long, but they still had someone capable of winning the un-winnable.

St Lucia Zouks defy rain to defeat Tridents



A couple of top edges and a bruising straight hit saw Cornwall take 13 off Tridents captain Jason Holder in the first over of the chase, but Rashid’s googly did for him as it has so many before, Shai Hope having ample time to complete a stumping. Jonathan Carter held leg-side catches to dismiss Najibullah Zadran and Nabi, but not before the latter had backed up a superb bowling spell with a six and a four off his countryman Rashid. Andre Fletcher made victory a formality with a Hero Maximum of his own off the champion leg-spinner, and with the scores level, he guided Raymon Reifer through point for four to seal victory with four balls to spare.

At the start of the day, Holder bucked the trend of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) so far and chose to bat, backing the all-round abilities of his four spinners in glorious conditions that were a far cry from the damp and grey of the end of the match. There was backing for spin too from Daren Sammy, as Saad bin Zafar came into the Zouks XI and recovered well from being cut for four by Johnson Charles to bowl a good first over.

Obed McCoy gave Charles three easy boundaries including the day’s first Hero Maximum, but while the opener dispatched Scott Kuggeleijn’s first ball over long-on, a good leaping catch from Sammy at mid-off saw him depart next ball. He had done his job, however, with 35 off 19.

With Charles so effective, the pressure was off Hope and he responded with two fluent fours off Mohammad Nabi. Corey Anderson couldn’t believe what he’d done when he smashed a high Kuggeleijn full toss straight to cover, Chase physically knocked off his feet as he held on well, but 53/2 represented a good Powerplay.

Nabi gave a middle-overs off-spin masterclass, forcing Hope into attacking the long boundary where Mark Deyal took a simple catch. Holder’s 11-ball cameo gave no hint of the troubles to come, with the long boundary not long enough to stop him taking Rakheem Cornwall for a four and a six in consecutive balls. But if Sammy was relieved when his opposite number toe-ended one to him at long-on, he was ecstatic when his off-spinners ripped through the Tridents’ middle order to turn the game on its head.

Sammy was happy to bowl Nabi out early, and with the death overs approaching he went to his third off-spinner, Roston Chase, who picked up Carter and Kyle Mayers in consecutive balls. Reifer denied Chase the hat-trick, but the Zouks had heaped the pressure on those Tridents all-rounders with the champions 107/6 off 14.

Deyal, yet another off-spinner, became the eighth bowler used and the fifth to take a wicket as Andre Fletcher took a good catch off Reifer’s outside edge. The return of seam released the pressure, Kuggeleijn going for 11, and the Tridents had recovered to 131/7 with 11 balls to go when the darkening clouds finally burst and reduced the chase to the minimum allowable. But the off-spinners had done the damage, and with the rainy season underway captains’ preference for chasing may just be reinforced even further.

Summary: St Lucia Zouks 50/3 (Fletcher 16*, Nabi 15, Cornwall 14; Rashid 2/24, Reifer 1/13) beat Barbados Tridents 131/7 (Charles 35, Holder 27, Hope 19; Chase 2/8, Kuggeleijn 2/28, Nabi 1/19, Deyal 1/3) by 7 wickets (DLS target 47 off 5 overs)


Upcoming Fixture: Thursday 20 August - Match 6: Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs (5:30 pm ECT), Brian Lara Cricket Academy

St Lucia Zouks uncork historic performance to shock Barbados Tridents

Joshua Bishop came in for his second senior T20 game, replacing the injured Mitchell Santner, and just as he had in his first match, last year against the same opposition, he dismissed Rakheem Cornwall in the first over. Andre Fletcher’s innings was dramatic but brief - he smashed Holder for six first ball, but the Tridents captain trapped him LBW second - and after eight balls the Zouks were 12/2.

Bishop bowled an impressive second over, beating both Leniko Boucher and Roston Chase and having Chase dropped at point. Holder showed faith in Walsh after his mauling at the hands of Kieron Pollard yesterday, and Walsh should have dismissed Boucher but Shai Hope missed a simple stumping. Rashid Khan was as accurate as ever, and the Zouks reached the Powerplay at 35/2.

Boucher was frenetic before Walsh bowled him with a quicker ball. Chase was able to free his arms and sweep Ashley Nurse for four, but Walsh was visibly growing in confidence and beat Chase in the flight with a slower googly to bowl him. Nurse continued, Rashid again held back for the second part of the innings, and the Afghan pair went boundary-less. The Zouks reached halfway at 58/4.

Nabi for once failed, skying a flighted Walsh googly to the captain at long-off, and with him gone Rashid returned and troubled both Najibullah Zadran and captain Daren Sammy. Bishop’s return over was also accurate, and a frantic Sammy ran himself out to leave his team 65/6 in the 13th. Javelle Glen though started in style with a gigantic Hero Maximum that landed on the roof.

Najibullah late-cut Rashid with just enough pace to find the boundary, but the rest of the over went scoreless. Nurse got a third over with two left-handers at the crease and picked up Glen, albeit it was a full toss whipped straight to Walsh at deep midwicket.

Holder went to his seamers Nyeem Young and Raymon Reifer, and a restless Najibullah fell to the latter thanks to a good low catch by Joshua Bishop at deep square leg. Reifer got a second thanks to Walsh expertly judging a mistimed Scott Kuggeleijn pull to juggle and hold near the rope.

Rashid was, predictably, too good for the tail and finished his spell with the wicket of his countryman Zahir Khan. Young with a tight over of 0/3 was the only one of the Tridents bowlers not to take a wicket, and they hadn’t even needed all 20 overs.

Hope and Johnson Charles started cautiously. The first aerial shot didn’t come until the 4th over, Charles almost holing out to mid-on, but a smattering of fours saw the Tridents score at a run a ball. Hope fell LBW to a good ball from Williams, but the Tridents reached the Powerplay at a steady 34/1.

That became 37/2 when Zahir bowled Kyle Mayers with a beauty that turned from middle to take off-stump, the no.3 again struggling against wrist-spin. Williams and Zahir snuck through a few tight overs, and even Charles’ third boundary was a controlled leg glance. Williams wasn’t giving up, beating Holder’s waft to pick up a second LBW, but at the drinks break the Tridents were 48/3 and needed barely over four an over.

The Tridents though continued to bat nervously - Chase and Glen, the latter bowling for the first time in senior T20 cricket, were tidy, and the leg-spinner Glen got his first wicket when Charles sliced to long-on where Williams took a good catch.

The Tridents suddenly found themselves 67/4 off 14, and Zahir, Nabi and Chase bowled tidily against a nervy Nurse and Corey Anderson. When Nabi beat Anderson in the flight and bowled him, the Tridents found themselves suddenly five down and needing over a run a ball. Sammy gave Glen the nod for the 19th, and Rashid fell clubbing the leg-spinner to Nabi, leaving Chase nine to defend off the last over.

Nurse fell to a good catch from Najibullah, but most importantly Chase started with three dot balls. Reifer missed a full toss and only managed three off two balls, leaving Young needing to hit his first-ever ball in Hero CPL over the ropes to seal a win that seemed a formality at almost every stage. He couldn’t do it, and while the Zouks bowlers deserve huge credit, for the second day in a row the Tridents found themselves wondering how on earth they had lost.

Summary (St Lucia Zouks 92 all out (Najibullah 22, Boucher 18, Chase 14; Walsh Jr 3/19, Reifer 2/5, Nurse 1/15, Rashid 1/17, Bishop 1/17) beat Barbados Tridents 89/7 (Charles 39, Hope 14, Nurse 12, Anderson 11; Glen 2/11, Williams 2/12, Chase 1/14, Nabi 1/18, Zahir 1/21) beat by 3 runs)

Upcoming Fixture: Sunday 30 August - Match 20: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Guyana Amazon Warriors (2:15pm),  1:15 pm Jamaica at Queen’s Park Oval

T&T government in support of hosting all CPL games

Last week it was reported that the CPL were intent on presenting a proposal to T&T Prime Minister Keith Rowley for the country to host the entire tournament at two venues, the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Torouba and the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair.

This week, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Shamfa Cudjoe, said the government was “very, very much open” to the proposal.

The CPL and the Ministry of Sport met on Thursday to discuss plans for a tournament under the health protocols that have become standard since the beginning of the spread of COVID-19.

T&T already has a three-year deal with the CPL where it is to pay US$1 million to facilitate the hosting of semi-finals and finals in addition to the Trinbago Knight Riders’ home games. According to Cudjoe, the financial element of the proposal is not something that has been broached just yet.

"The proposal speaks primarily to the health protocol, and doesn't cover budget or anything of that sort. I must commend CPL for taking this time out to touch on and examine each and every part of the health protocol - from quarantine period after the players land, as to how they are going to be housed, how they are fed and how to maintain social distancing, even rules as to whether saliva or sweat can be used on the ball - they went into detail," said Cudjoe speaking on i95.5fm radio out of T&T.

Cudjoe also went on to say the CPL was recommending a mid-August date for the commencement of the tournament, which would be played in 25 days featuring double headers at both venues.

The Sports Minister said the CPL would be bringing budgetary proposals to the discussion table next week, and that a more concrete answer regarding the safety of hosting the tournament in the country which has remained largely unaffected by the virus with just 117 reported cases to date would be given at that time.

The Barbados Tridents are the defending champions of the Hero CPL.

Tridents must be smarter with bat - charges skipper Holder

The back of enterprising play from Johnson Charles, the Tridents were fast out of the block after Holder’s decision to bat first.  Charles was able to take full advantage of some ordinary new-ball bowling from the Zouks.

He blasted the first ball of the match - a short one from the left-arm spinner Saad Bin Zafar - to the cover-point boundary, and then hammered a wildly inconsistent Obed McCoy for two fours and a six in the second over.

He was eventually dismissed for 35 off 19 in the fourth over, with his opening partner Shai Hope facing two balls and was yet to open his account.  St Lucia Zouks spinner Mohammad Nabi slowed down the team’s momentum with a typically shrewd spell of strangulating off-spin in stifling middle overs and a late burst of four wickets for 11 runs in 18 just balls completely undercut the team’s early promise.

“I think we had a really good start and fell away in the middle of the game.  In terms of the tempo we never kept wickets in hand,” Holder said, following the match.

“I love the intent.  I always tell the guys to show your intent and make sure you are positive right through the 20 overs.  More or less we need to be a little bit smarter and string together a few more partnerships or one and two guys going a little deeper into the innings.”