Brian Lara Cricket Stadium

The 25-year-old came to the crease with the hosts teetering at 22-4 in the sixth over after bring put in to bat at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.

On a pitch that he described as “tacky” and “spongy” in the post-match press conference, Rutherford took his time in the early part of his innings before accelerating to a top score of 68* to help the West Indies post a match-winning 149-9 from their allotted 20 overs.

Rutherford described the innings as perhaps the best of his career, so far.

“I will put it as my best knock. It’s a World Cup. This is my dream. I’ve always wanted to play in a World Cup and this one is going to stay close to my heart. Hopefully, I can continue to take out good innings like this for my team and for myself,” he said.

At the halfway point of the innings, the West Indies were 49-5 and Rutherford says head coach Daren Sammy’s advice was to bat time and take it deep.

“He was just telling me to take it deep. I was batting with Akeal (Hosein) so I told him to keep going but my role was to basically take it to the 15^th or 16^th over but after we lost wickets I just told myself to try and take it to the 20^th over and try and maximize those last two overs which they had to make up with two bowlers,” he said.

The Guyanese hard-hitter was recently a part of the Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders and, despite not getting a game, he says he has been using that time to prepare for situations like the one he faced on Wednesday.

“I pattern my game off these situations. Even before the World Cup, I try to put myself in positions in the nets where I have to bat properly and then have to excel in the end so I think it’s good to see that my plans and my work are coming to show,” he said.

He faced a similar situation when the West Indies found themselves 79-5 batting first in the third T20I against Australia in Perth in February.

Rutherford and Andre Russell put on 139 for the sixth wicket with Rutherford finishing 67* off 40 balls.

He says the main thing he took from that innings was the importance of giving himself time at the crease.

“The innings in Australia is one that I kept close to me and, even though it was a good innings, I try to pick a few things out of it. One of the few things was give myself time. It’s always a process and when you look too far ahead you can forget about the process so, for me, it was just ball after ball, give myself time, run singles and get myself ready so that in the back end I can make up,” he said.

Finally, Rutherford made mention of the crowd at the Brian Lara Stadium.

“When batting I try not to worry about the crowd. I just try to look at what’s in front of me and focus on the process but it’s good to have some support. It’s good to have the home crowd with us and hopefully they can keep supporting us,” he said.

The West Indies will next take on Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy Stadium on June 17.

Ball dominated bat on a testing wicket under lights. The Royals were inserted after Warriors captain Lauren Winfield-Hill won the toss and Hayley Matthews’s side struggled to break the infield or find the boundary in the early stages. Matthews fell for just two runs off 13 deliveries, and the normally fluent Chamari Athapanthu used up 27 deliveries for her 15 runs before being pinned lbw by Chloe Tryon.

It was hard going throughout for the Royals in the face of tight bowling, with just 25 runs added in the PowerPlay and 33 on the board after the first ten overs. Erin Burns starred for the Warriors once again, this time with the ball in hand, as she returned figures of 3/31 off her four overs as the Royals reached a total of 101/8 off their twenty overs. Qiana Joseph top scored for the 2023 champions with 19 runs. The slow left-armer later pocketed 3/16 with the ball to cap a Player of the Match performance.

The Warriors found conditions equally as tough in their response. The Royals put the squeeze on and showed their class and composure in defending a small target. Once Erin Burns, the tournament’s top run maker, was dismissed by Athanpanthu to leave the warriors 44/5 in the twelfth over, the game drifted out of sight for Winfield-Hill’s side.

The Royals chalked up another win and look increasingly strong in this year’s competition, now it is a case of who they will meet in Thursday’s final with Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors both tied on two points apiece. Deandra Dottin’s Knight Riders have the chance to secure their place in the final but will need to find a way of beating the undefeated and dominant Royals tomorrow night in order to do so.

Set a target of 180, South Africa appeared to be in a strong position at 129 for 3 in the 14th over, but the West Indies bowlers had other plans. In a stunning collapse, South Africa lost seven wickets for just 20 runs within the space of 35 balls, eventually being bowled out for 149 in 19.4 overs, falling short by 30 runs.

The West Indies' innings was anchored by key contributions from Shai Hope (41) and Rovman Powell (35), allowing them to post a competitive 179 for 6. South Africa's bowlers, led by Lizaad Williams (3 for 36) and Gerald Coetzee (2 for 29), kept the West Indies' scoring in check, but the hosts managed a late flourish, adding 50 runs in the last five overs.

South Africa started their chase aggressively, racing to 100 inside 10 overs, but the West Indies bowlers tightened the screws in the middle overs. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie delivered crucial breakthroughs, dismissing Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira respectively. However, it was the duo of Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph who truly turned the game on its head.

Shepherd was particularly effective, claiming 3 for 15 in his four overs, while Joseph recorded a career-best 3 for 31. Their combined efforts derailed South Africa's chase, which at one point seemed on track for victory.

South Africa's middle-order collapse highlighted concerns for the visitors, with only one batter from No. 3 down managing to surpass 20 runs. In a match where individual scoring milestones were scarce, the West Indies' ability to clear the boundary made the difference. They hit 13 sixes compared to South Africa's six, underscoring their superiority in power-hitting.

The 47-run stand between Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford provided the West Indies with a crucial edge, as their late acceleration ensured a challenging total for South Africa.

The victory not only secured the series for the West Indies but also demonstrated their growing dominance over South Africa, particularly in home conditions. The hosts will now look to build on this momentum as they prepare for future challenges.

The Red Force started the day 106-3 and lost their fourth wicket quickly as Jyd Goolie was run out for 18 in the 48^th over with the score on 119.

Tion Webster then joined Bravo at the crease and the pair put on 25 before Webster was bowled by Veerasammy Permaul for 16 in the 55^th over.

Bravo was next to go, falling agonizingly short of his third hundred of the season when he was dismissed by Permaul for a well-made 170-ball 95 in the 61^st over.

The very next ball saw Permaul remove Imran Khan for a golden duck to leave the red Force reeling at 165-7.

Bryan Charles was next to go, falling for one with the score on 174.

Red Force were 175-8 at lunch needing a further 247 runs to win with Amir Jangoo (10) and Uthman Muhammad (0) at the crease.

Jangoo and Muhammad continued to fight after lunch until Muhammad was dismissed by Ronsford Beaton for 25 with the score on 211 in the 83^rd over.

The last pair of Jangoo and debutant Justin Manick put on a valiant 57 for the last wicket before Manick went for 22 off the bowling of Kevin Sinclair.

Jangoo ended up 50 not out as the Red Force were bowled out for 268 in 97.5 overs.

Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 247-6 declared off 83 overs (Kemol Savory 101*, Leon Johnson 74, Darren Bravo 2-23, Bryan Charles 2-60)

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37) and 268 off 97.5 overs (Darren Bravo 95, Amir Jangoo 50*, Veerasammy Permaul 3-58, Ronsford Beaton 2-53, Keemo Paul 2-73).

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

Two days on from recording their highest ever T20 score, England came up against a more disciplined bowling performance by their opponents on the same pitch at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.

Motie was the pick of the attack with three for 24, which included a peach of a delivery to bowl England dangerman Phil Salt, who followed up his back-to-back hundreds with 38 off 22 balls.

Salt was undone by drift then sharp turn as he lost his middle stump, although he was still England’s top-scorer for a third game in a row as they were all out for 132 in 19.3 overs in this series decider.

Five of England’s top-six departed to spin, with Hosein claiming two for 20, on a pitch that provided some help. Liam Livingstone (28) and Moeen Ali (23) put on a stodgy 40 for the tourists in the middle.

Where they had clubbed 20 sixes in their 267 for three on Tuesday, England amassed just five this time.

It was a particularly shabby end to their innings as they lost their last five wickets in 19 balls for the addition of just 11 runs, with all-rounder Andre Russell taking two dismissals in two balls.

England could not even bat out their overs as Sam Curran, one of only five batters to pass double figures, clothed Jason Holder to long-off to depart for 12.

The Red Force started day two 7-0 replying to Guyana’s 324.

The Trinidadian opening pair of Jeremy Solozano and Keagan Simmons managed to put on 38 before Simmons went of the bowling of Keemo Paul for 15 in the 18th over.

Solozano and new batsman Darren Bravo brought the score past 50 in the 20^th over before Solozano became Paul’s second victim, also going for 15.

Just eight runs later, Captain Bravo was the third man to fall for 15, going caught off the bowling of Ronsford Beaton in the 21^st over.

Jason Mohammed (16) and Jyd Goolie (6) then came together and brought the Red Force to lunch on 81-3, trailing the Harpy Eagles by 243 runs.

After lunch, Mohammed and Goolie continued to toil against some good Harpy Eagles bowling before their resistance was broken in the 34^th over when Paul dismissed Goolie for 22 with the score on 117.

It quickly became 118-5 as Tion Webster fell to Veerasammy Permaul a few overs later for a duck.

Amir Jangoo was next to the crease and he and Mohammed added 32 before he too went off the bowling of Permaul for 18 to leave the Red Force 150-6 in the 47^th over.

Permaul was at it again when he dismissed Imran Khan for two with the score on 157 in the 49^th over.

Ronsford Beaton took the final three wickets of the innings, dismissing Bryan Charles, Jason Mohammed for a well made 50, his 18^th in first class cricket, and Justin Manick for a duck.

Just before the tea break, the Red Force were bowled out for 160 in 52 overs, trailing the Harpy Eagles by 164 runs.

Ronsford Beaton ended with 4-31 from his 13 overs while Keemo Paul and Veerasammy Permaul took 3-37 and 3-36, respectively.

Guyana lost Tevin Imlach very early in their second innings, going for just three in the fourth over off the bowling of Uthman Muhammad.

The score was 31-1 in the 12^th over when the Harpy Eagles lost their second wicket, Kevlon Anderson caught off the bowling of Daren Bravo for 15.

Matthew Nandu and Kemol Savory then put on 49 for the third wicket before Nandu fell for 33 in the 27^th over.

At stumps, the Harpy Eagles were 96-3, leading the Red Force by 260 runs with Savory (34) and captain Leon Johnson (9) at the crease.

Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 96-3 off 34 overs (Kemol Savory 34*, Matthew Nandu 33)

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37)

The Harpy Eagles defeated the Jamaica Scorpions by 228 runs in round four for their third win to move to 68.2 points.

Second-placed Windward Islands Volcanoes kept pace with the Harpy Eagles at the top with a six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Stadium to move to 58 points.

Their opponents in the final round will be third-placed Barbados Pride, who have 50 points after beating the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force by seven wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval. That game will take place at the same venue.

The points table is rounded out by the Hurricanes (41.4), the Red Force (28.6) and the Jamaica Scorpions (21.2). The Red Force will play the Scorpions at the Brian Lara Stadium in the final round.

All games start on Wednesday at 9:00am Jamaica Time (10:00 am ECT).

Two days after compiling their highest T20 total of 267 for three, England subsided to 132 all out in 19.3 overs on the same pitch at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, which was much trickier to bat on.

Despite the best efforts of their bowlers England tumbled to a four-wicket defeat as the Windies were grateful for Shai Hope’s efficient run-a-ball 43 not out to get them home with four balls to spare.

On a trip that doubled as a reconnaissance mission for the 2024 T20 World Cup, England can take some positives away, not least from battling back from 2-0 down to set up a winner-takes-all showdown.

But a World Cup group stage exit has now been followed by ODI and T20 series defeats against the Windies and Topley acknowledged there can be no excuses at leaving the Caribbean empty-handed.

“I was so excited to turn up here because it was basically like a final and those are the games you want to play in and be on the right side of,” he said.

“It is gutting. There’s a lot of talk about Test cricket being the priority and there’s some faces missing here but when we come up against the guys, they’ve got a lot of their main players here.

“The bottom line is you want to win this series, especially as a player where white-ball cricket is my Test cricket so I want to win every series I can for England.”

This was the Windies’ fourth successive series win over England in all formats, built on Gudakesh Motie’s three for 24 with fellow slow left-armer Akeal Hosein taking two for 20.

Phil Salt followed up his back-to-back hundreds by top-scoring with 38 off 22 balls, only prised from the crease by a peach from Motie, who produced drift then sharp turn to uproot middle stump.

England struggled from then on and lost their last five wickets in 19 balls for 11 runs although Topley’s two for 17 and Adil Rashid’s two for 21 made sure the chase was anything but a cakewalk.

“The other day there was another wicket made up next to our strip but it was their decision to play on the same wicket again, probably knowing it brings spin into the game a little bit more,” Topley said.

“It’s been an amazing series, both teams have played some unbelievable cricket.

“We’ve taken a lot from this series, there’s the World Cup here next year but there’s also some fresh faces that have been exposed to top-level international cricket and some have taken to it really well.”

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While his efforts were in vain, Topley has enhanced his case for the T20 World Cup next June after being overlooked for the first two matches following the broken finger which ended his World Cup early.

“Obviously no one likes to be left out and I was thinking about why I was left out for the first two,” Topley said.

“But then I had a point to prove, almost, coming back in and I’d like to think that maybe I’d have justified being selected after the third game.”

Windies captain Rovman Powell was satisfied his team held their nerve after back-to-back defeats but admitted they are not the finished article for the T20 World Cup they are co-hosting.

“I think we are prepared for the World Cup but there are still areas where we need to sharpen up, especially our bowling,” Powell said. “Two games back-to-back England beat us badly as a bowling group.

“There is a lot of work for us to do, so hopefully over the next few months we can sharpen up and get those areas sorted.”

The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that decision appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles’ half-century got the Kings off to a lightning start.

Although the Knight Riders pegged the Kings back in the middle overs a devastating 33 off 14 balls from David Wiese ensured the Knight Riders were set a very difficult 148 to win.

 The Knight Riders’ task became even more difficult when they lost three early wickets inside the PowerPlay including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck. 

 They never really recovered from that and left themselves too much ground to make up in the back end resulting in the narrow defeat.

 The Kings had got off to a flier in the PowerPlay with the tournament’s top scorer Charles hitting another barnstorming fifty. His partnership with Niroshan Dickwella added 59 runs before Ravi Rampaul carried on his good form by removing the latter.

 When Rampaul removed the set Charles it led to a squeeze on the Kings scorecard as 82-3 quickly became 117-5.

 However, David Wiese was able to produce an excellent counter-attacking innings at the death to help the Kings post a challenging 147.

 The Knight Riders' response saw their top order fail again as Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran all fell inside the powerplay to Roston Chase.

 That left the middle and lower order too much to do and despite a late salvo by Andre Russell in the final over of the game, it was too little too late.

 The two sides swap places in the table following the results and both will now head to Guyana with all to play for in the race for the playoffs. 

Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 147-6 (Charles 54, Wiese 33; Rampaul 2-10, Narine 2-31) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 146-6 (Seifert 44, Pollard 34; Chase 3-17, Joseph 2-26) by 1 run.

The Hurricanes started the day 99-5 off 39 overs with a lead of 128 runs in their second innings with Montcin Hodge on 45 and Kofi James yet to get off the mark.

Hodge ended up making a top score of 59 as the Leewards eventually folded for 144 off 55 overs.

McSween led the charge with the ball for the Volcanoes with 5-39 off 13 overs while Larry Edward took 3-9 from eight in support.

Chasing 174 for victory, the Volcanoes reached 32-0 at lunch with Teddy Bishop on 15 and Keron Cottoy on 12.

They lost three wickets after the resumption, including first innings centurion Kavem Hodge, but Alick Athanaze, who also got a century in the first innings, and Sunil Ambris steadied the ship.

At tea, the Volcanoes were 151-3 off 34 overs, needing only 23 more runs to win with Athanaze on 31 and Ambris on 28.

Shortly after tea, Athanaze was dismissed for 38 before Ambris and Tevyn Walcott guided the Volcanoes to 174-4 off 38 overs. Ambris finished 40*.

Rakheem Cornwall took 2-53 off 13 overs for the Hurricanes.

Having been overlooked at the Indian Premier League auction on Tuesday, Salt smashed 10 sixes and seven fours in his 119 off 57 balls at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba in England’s 267 for three.

Salt’s belligerent knock is the highest by an England batter – beating the previous record held by Alex Hales on 116 – as the tourists took a giant stride towards levelling the five-match series at 2-2.

England’s previous best score in this format was the 241 for three they posted against New Zealand in Napier in November 2019 but Jos Buttler’s side blew that total out of the water.

Buttler registered 55 off 29 balls, putting on 117 in 9.5 overs with Salt, while Liam Livingstone added an unbeaten 54 off 21 deliveries as England racked up the fifth highest score in this format.

Four days on from his 109 not out at the weekend which helped England keep the series alive, Salt transferred his form to another Caribbean island, bringing up back-to-back tons off 48 balls.

There was no respite for the Windies on a hot and sticky afternoon, with T20 debutant Matthew Forde leaking 54 from three overs and Jason Holder and Gudakesh Motie each conceding 55 from four overs.

Akeal Hosein was the pick of the attack with one for 36 from his allocation but the hosts have been left it all to do to stop the series from going to a decider – no team has chased down more than 259.

Friday’s day three started with Kemol Savory and skipper Leon Johnson at the crease aiming to put the Harpy Eagles further in control of the game.

The morning session saw them do just that as score was 96-3 off 34 overs at the start of the day and, by lunch, the pair added a further 91 runs to have the Harpy Eagles 187-3 after 65 overs, enjoying a healthy 351-run lead with Savory was not out on 76 while Johnson was on 54.

The post-lunch session was equally fruitful for the Harpy Eagles. Johnson eventually fell for 74 before Savory eventually brought up a maiden first-class hundred, finishing 101 not out off 222 balls as Guyana declared on 247-6 setting the Red Force a target of 412 for victory.

At the tea break, the Red Force were 5-1 after five overs. Jeremy Solozano was the man to fall for a nine-ball duck.

The Red Force lost two further wickets after tea with Keagan Simmons (8) and Jason Mohammed (13) both falling to Keemo Paul.

At stumps, the Red Force were 106-3 off 39 overs, requiring a further 306 to win, with Darren Bravo on 63 and Jyd Goolie on 14.

Keemo Paul has, so far, taken 2-38 off 10 overs for the Harpy Eagles.

Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 324 off 86.3 overs (Kevin Sinclair 69, Leon Johnson 62, Anthony Bramble 56, Keemo Paul 46, Imran Khan 4-80, Bryan Charles 3-85) and 247-6 declared off 83 overs (Kemol Savory 101*, Leon Johnson 74, Darren Bravo 2-23, Bryan Charles 2-60)

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force 160 off 52 overs (Jason Mohammed 50, Jyd Goolie 22, Ronsford Beaton 4-31, Veerasammy Permaul 3-36, Keemo Paul 3-37) and 106-3 off 39 overs (Darren Bravo 63*, Jyd Goolie 14*, Keemo Paul 2-38).

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots won the toss and chose to field first, but it was Faf du Plessis who got the Saint Lucia Kings off to a dominating start by scoring boundaries throughout the opening overs. Johnson Charles then continued to score runs, before big hitting from David Wiese and Roshon Primus powered the Kings to a total of 189-7. 

In their chase, the Patriots could not find fluency as they lost four wickets in the first 10 overs. Wiese was the stand-out bowler for the Kings, taking three wickets for just eight runs as the Patriots finished 140 all out and lost by a margin of 49 runs. 

Saint Lucia Kings had a positive start to their innings with du Plessis and Charles comfortably hitting boundaries at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, although the former would lose his wicket attempting a scoop shot. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the Kings managed to score 189-7 largely thanks to the performance of Charles, who scored 61 and was at the crease for over 15 overs. 

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots had begun to build a foundation in their chase but lost both openers Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis in the fifth over. With Wiese then taking the wickets of both Darren and DJ Bravo, the Patriots began to rebound with Dewald Brevis scoring some crucial runs before he was caught out. As the Patriots lost more wickets, Kesrick Williams proving a threat with the ball, they could not keep up with the required run rate and were bowled out for 140, losing by 49 runs. 

 Scores:  Saint Lucia Kings 189-7 (Charles 61, du Plessis 41; DJ Bravo 1-26, Khan 2-45) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 140 all out (Brevis 32, Khan 26; Wiese 3-8, Williams 3-32) by 49 runs.

The Tallawahs won the toss and surprisingly opted to bat first and that decision backfired almost immediately.

 Losing four wickets in the PowerPlay, the Tallawahs were in trouble at 25-4 and despite a 50-run partnership between Fabian Allen and Imad Wasim too much was left to do at the back end. 

116-7 never looked like it was enough but the Tallawahs fought gamely to defend the total taking out six wickets in the process. 

However, Andre Russell and Akeal Hosein saw the chase home to move the Knight Riders into the top four. 

Earlier on Ravi Rampaul impressed to uproot the Tallawahs batting, the seam bowler took 4-19 including three in the PowerPlay to put the Knight Riders in complete control. 

 The Tallawahs only had an energetic Fabian Allen half-century to thank to prevent a total collapse. 

 The Knight Riders made hard going of what should have been a simple chase. Openers Nicholas Pooran and Tion Webster both fell for ducks to leave the Knight Riders 0-2 in the first two overs. But Colin Munro and Tim Seifert rebuilt the innings with a 50-run partnership.

 When the pair fell in quick succession the Tallawahs had a moment of hope but Russell and Hosein ensured there would be no dramatic defeat, guiding the Knight Riders home with five balls to spare.

Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 119-6 (Munro 40, Seifert 28; Amir 2-15, Green 1-12) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 116-7 (Fabian 50, Brooks 20; Rampaul 4-19, Narine 1-21) by 4 wickets.

England arrive in Antigua to start the tour with two CG United ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on 3 and 6 December. The third CG United ODI will be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 9 December followed on 12 December by the first of five T20Is.

The Spice Isle of Grenada welcomes both teams for two T20Is on 14 and 16 December and the tour concludes in the week before Christmas with the fourth and fifth T20Is at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad which will be hosting a West Indies vs England men’s fixture for the first time on 19 and 21 December.

CWI’s Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Grave said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm the England match schedule and to welcome once again their many travelling fans to the region for a pre-Christmas white-ball tour. “

Grave added: “This tour will be a major economic boost to the host countries, as well as providing our fans with the chance to see some of their favourite players in action against one of our biggest rivals. The tour will also help with our ongoing venue preparation and event planning for one of the biggest events ever to be staged in the region, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which takes place in June next year.

"We also look forward to announcing the fixtures and venues for the India tour of the West Indies in July and August very soon."

Official West Indies Tour Operators and ticket information for the series will be announced in the coming weeks with tickets available in advance on the Windies Tickets service presented by Mastercard, accessible via Windiescricket.com where fans can also find all the latest news and scores. Fans can register sign up to receive the first news of tickets going on sale at https://www.windiescricket.com/updates/. ​

MATCH SCHEDULE

CG United One-Day Internationals

3 December: 1st CG United ODI, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

6 December: 2nd CG United ODI, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

9 December: 3rd CG United ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados

T20 Internationals

12 December: 1st T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

14 December: 2nd T20I, Grenada National Stadium, Grenada

16 December: 3rd T20I, Grenada National Stadium, Grenada

19 December: 4th T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

21 December: 5th T20I, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

Powell's side which was on a high after they opened up an early two-nil series lead with four-wicket and 10-run victories, was brought down to earth in the third and fourth encounters that England won by seven wickets and 75 runs respectively.

On both losing occasions, England's opening batsman Phil Salt hammered centuries, while West Indies batting was sub-par, as they lost wickets at regular intervals when gathering some semblance of momentum.

Still, Powell saw some positives, particularly in the most recent contest on Tuesday when Andre Russell made a brisk 51, as they were bowled out for 192 chasing 267.

“I think the way Andre Russell played, I think he give us some impetus at the back end of the innings, and it showed us that if we had batted properly, or if they had scored just a little bit less runs, we would have been able to get it," Powell said.

“I think the intensity at which we start was very low, and you know in a T20 game when you start with such low intensity it's very difficult to find a rhythm, and I think that's cost us. They posted 260 which was a very, very big total. If you're going to chase 260, everything has to go right and it's not it's not very often you see those things happen, so it was it was always going to be uphill task," he added.

With things now squared at 2-2, Powell is well aware that his regional side will not only have to learn from the defeats, but more importantly, reproduce performances from the top of the series.

In fact, he believes the situation requires some serious introspection, as it is imperative that they improve, both individually and collectively.

“We have to do some introspection. You know, as individuals, we have to look into ourselves and see if we have done ourselves justice, and if we haven't done ourselves justice, then it's obvious that we haven't done the team justice. So, some introspection and see if we can come up with some better plans to fix what's happening," Powell reasoned.

“I think in all the games the batting has stand up, hopefully the batting can stand up for the final game, but the bowlers have to come to the party. It has been disappointing for the last few games how we have executed as bowling group, so this final game provides an opportunity for us to get that right," he noted.

That said, the Jamaican expressed confidence that whichever 11 players take the field at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium for the day/night clash scheduled for 3:00pm, will represent with much gusto.

“, we always feel as if when we put guys on the park, it's the best combination for that game. We'll sit down, revise the plan, see if we can come up with different plans and if we come up with different plans, we'll find the players who can execute that plan," Powell declared.

"It's a final, and when it comes to final situation West Indies normally triumph so hopefully, we can pull it off," he ended.

Alick Athanaze was the only scorer of note with 33 as Anderson Phillip (4-32), Jayden Seales (3-31) did the damage for Trinidad and Tobago.

Phillip has so far taken 2-15 as the Windwards struggled once again in their second turn at bat.

Earlier, Trinidad and Tobago resumed at 217-5 with Joshua Da Silva on 51 and Terrence Hinds on five. The pair would eventually post 72 for the sixth wicket when Da Silva was dismissed for 73. Hinds would go on to make 57 as Trinidad were eventually dismissed for 326.

Sherman Lewis was the best of the Windwards bowlers with 5-43.

However, when they went to bat the Volcanoes imploded as other than Athanaze, Devon Smith (16) was the only other top-order batter in double figures. Among the lower order Ryan John (16), Larry Edward (13) and Kenneth Dember (10) were the only other batters in double figures.