Cpl

Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo ensured Trinbago Knight Riders completed the first perfect season in franchise T20 history with an unbroken partnership of 138 off 88 balls, the highest of Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 and the highest ever in a final. The St Lucia Zouks put up what seemed a competitive total, but ultimately a loss of 7/39 off the last 32 balls of their innings cost them dearly against this history-making Knight Riders squad. 

Rakheem Cornwall swept Akeal Hosein for four but was lucky to edge over DJ Bravo at slip. Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard gave the second over to Ali Khan, and Ali responded by flattening Cornwall’s middle stump. Andre Fletcher clipped fine for four, the Zouks thus closing the second over at 16/1.

 Mark Deyal slog-swept Hosein for two fours, and Fletcher was aggressive against Sikandar Raza, taking him over cover and long-on for Hero Maximums then cutting for four. Khary Pierre went for just five, but Fletcher twice smoked Ali through cover for four and the Zouks motored to 60/1 off the Powerplay.

 Deyal lofted Pierre over cover for four and launched Pollard for six, but struggled to combat Fawad Ahmed’s googly and edged to DJ Bravo at slip. Hosein returned with a tight over, and at halfway the Knight Riders had slowed the Zouks to 79/2.

Roston Chase clipped through midwicket for four early in Fawad’s second over, which went for 10, but Fletcher’s assault ended as he aimed Pollard down the ground but found only Darren Bravo at long-off. Najibullah Zadran slashed his first ball for four, and the over went for seven to leave the Zouks in need of a partnership at 79/3 off 12 overs.

While Chase slog-swept the last ball of Pierre’s over for a Hero Maximum, he and Mohammad Nabi fell within four balls, the former chipping a Pollard cutter to deep-mid on and the latter clubbing Fawad to long-off. Zouks captain Daren Sammy smashed his second ball for a Hero Maximum, and after 15 overs the Zouks were 123/5.

Despite a Najibullah four, Ali’s return over went for just six, and Sammy should have fallen to Hosein but Ali badly misjudged the catch. Najibullah flicked Hosein for a delightful Hero Maximum over cover, but Hosein recovered to dismiss Sammy LBW. After 17 overs, the Zouks were 138/6.

 DJ Bravo was unable to bowl, and so Pollard had to step up at the death and did so admirably, picking up two wickets with his off-cutter. First Javelle Glenn looped to backward point, then Najibullah failed to clear Raza at deep backward square off another cutter. Kesrick Williams was run out, Ali Khan bowled Zahir Khan with a perfect yorker, and the Knight Riders had bowled the Zouks out for a decent rather than dominant total.

 Simmons pulled Scott Kuggeleijn for four first ball of the chase, becoming Hero CPL’s all-time leading run-scorer in doing so. Webster swept Nabi for four but then top-edged off Chase, Williams taking a fine catch. After three overs, the Knight Riders were 14/1.

Tim Seifert got off the mark with a four off Kuggeleijn but fell edging behind next ball. Darren Bravo too got off the mark with a boundary, a glorious lofted Hero Maximum over long-on off Chase, and Simmons took fours straight, fine down the leg side and backward of point off Williams’ first over to close the Powerplay with the Knight Riders 40/2.

Chase and Nabi put the pressure on, going for just five between them, and Simmons and Bravo both struggled against Zahir. When Simmons did take on the big shot though he nailed it over the fence, and at halfway the Knight Riders were 59/2 and needed 96 more to win.

Sammy brought himself on and bowled five good deliveries, but Bravo smashed the sixth for a Hero Maximum, and Simmons pulled Williams for a six then cut him for four, becoming Hero CPL 2020’s leading run-scorer and bringing up his 50 off just 31 balls. Bravo though continued to struggle against Chase, who closed out a superb spell.

 After 13 overs, Bravo was just 23 off 32 balls, and the Knight Riders needed almost 10 an over, but he eased both of those equations somewhat with two Hero Maximums off Glenn. Williams’s third over went for nine thanks to two wides and a loose short ball, and the Knight Riders entered the last five overs needing 45 with eight wickets still in hand.

Kuggeleijn managed to go for just four off the 16th despite starting with a wide, but Simmons targeted Zahir, taking him for four off the first and six off the second. Bravo added two big Hero Maximums, the second bringing up his 50 off 45 balls. Suddenly, the Knight Riders needed just 18.

Simmons was not going to hang around now, walloping Kuggeleijn for a Hero Maximum over midwicket then clubbing him over cover and slicing him through third man for two fours. The winning runs came off an inside edge, but there was now no denying the Knight Riders’ domination of Hero CPL 2020.

All season, the Knight Riders had absorbed the loss of key personnel - Colin Munro fractured his hand, Ali Khan missed games, Narine had kidney stones removed and was unable to play the final with a knee injury. But perhaps the 12th and final win is the greatest measure of how great a squad Pollard and Brendon McCullum have built - victory was achieved two wickets down, with 11 balls to spare, without DJ Bravo bowling or Pollard batting. The Knight Riders had come together in the bubble and emerged from it to achieve something truly monumental.

Summary (Trinbago Knight Riders 157/2 (Simmons 84*, DM Bravo 58*; Chase 1/13, Kuggeleijn 1/30) beat St Lucia Zouks 154 all out (Fletcher 39, Deyal 29, Najibullah 24, Chase 22; Pollard 4/30, Fawad 2/22, Ali Khan 2/25, Hosein 1/26) by 8 wickets)

They have also signed Denesh Ramdin from the Trinbago Knight Riders. Captain Rayad Emrit, who has also been retained, is excited by the decisions made on player retentions and the hiring of a new coach.

“I am very excited to be part of the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for a second season,” said the veteran bowler.

“I think that the team that is selected this year is going to be a very exciting one. I am very excited to be named as captain. It's always an honour and a privilege to lead a franchise.

“Our new coach, Simon Helmot, knows the CPL and he knows how to win titles. He and I are going to work very hard to get the team to the finals.”

Promising fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has also been retained with Dominic Drakes in as the emerging player.

The franchise will announce international retentions and signings later. For the 2020 season 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.

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

A brutal final over assault from Dwaine Pretorius handed the Patriots a thrilling 4-wicket win, despite an innings leading 46 off 21 from skipper Shimon Hetmyer that put the Warriors in a strong position.

In fact, the Guyana franchise seemed well set for a win after needing 22 runs heading into the final over.  After scoring three off the first two balls, however, Pretorius tore into Romario Shepherd the rest of the way clubbing two 6s and 7, in effect, off the last ball after Shepherd was also called for a no-ball.

Many believe Hetmyer should have gone for Odean Smith to bowl the final over after the batsman put up an economic 2 for 10 runs off two overs.  Hetmyer insists that it was important to back players.

“I think as players and individuals we back ourselves to get it nine times out 10.  I guess sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t it’s just for us to do better in the next game.

“He had a good day today but, in the end, I went for Shepherd and as it was things just didn’t go our way,” he added.

A short-handed Knight Riders, who were at the opposite end of the spectrum, winning their eighth game in a row, were led by a blistering 96 off just 63 ball from opener Lendl Simmons.  The onslaught underpinned the team's sizable total of 174 for 4, which, based on current form, the Patriots were hardly ever likely to threaten.  In the end, with only three batsmen making double figures, the team was restricted to 115 for 7.

I’m at a loss for words at the moment.  I think we’ve seen why TKR is so dominant throughout the tournament and why we are where we are at the moment,” Emrit said following the match.

“We just couldn’t get anything right.  They totally outplayed us in all departments.  I think that’s the outcome of the game.  It shows why they are on top,” he added.

In eight games so far the team has managed just one win and remains rooted to the foot of the table.

This season will also see the return of Scott Kuggeleijn who played for the Kings in 2020, where he finished as the tournament’s leading wicket taker that season. The Kings have one more overseas spot left to fill, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Kings will have six more spots to fill at the Hero CPL draft with details of these picks released during the draft show which will be broadcast this Thursday 7 July – at 9 am Eastern Caribbean Time.

The Kings' squad so far: Faf du Plessis,.

To be confirmed: Tim David, Roston Chase, Johnson Charles, Kesrick Williams, David Wiese, Alzarri Joseph, Scott Kuggeleijn, Mark Deyal, Jeavor Royal.

The 37-year-old Bravo, who recently set the milestone of claiming 500 T20 wickets in this season’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), picked up a knee injury that delayed the start of his India Premier League (IPL) campaign.  Bravo started the IPL four games late but found himself sidelined a few games later, this time with a groin injury.

The injury led to Bravo being ruled out of the team’s tour to New Zealand.  The player’s previous CPL season had also been hampered after he suffered a broken finger.  While admitting it is a source of concern, Simmons has assured the player will remain in the minds of the selectors once he can recover sufficiently.

“It’s a concern because he was injured in CPL and now he’s injured in IPL,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference call from the team’s training camp in New Zealand.

“There’s a break now, so he will go home and do what is necessary for him to be fit enough to play and there are a few series and also another IPL before the World Cup.  So, there’s a lot of chance for him to go and get himself fit and we will see what his fitness is like heading into the tournament.”

With months of planning and many late changes, adjustments and restrictions to both crew and equipment logistics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunset + Vine and SportsMax teams executed and fulfilled their roles as broadcast, technical and production partners on the ground in Trinidad & Tobago. Over the four weeks of the tournament an uninterrupted high definition signal was sent to viewers around the world.

The Sunset + Vine team have a track record of amazing sports broadcasting and viewers around the globe were provided with the best possible experience. Despite the challenging nature of producing high class coverage during a pandemic, Sunset+Vine delivered a fantastic broadcast that was both innovative and engaging. 

With a camera count of 26, supporting audio and video equipment, more than 300 equipment cases and over nine tons of equipment shipped to the island during a global pandemic getting all of this in place was a massive endeavour. The equipment used during the broadcast, as well as the logistics of getting it in place in Trinidad, was provided by SportsMax productions. 

The broadcast also featured innovations to give the viewers the best possible experience, with this being even more important with the games played behind closed doors. SportsMax successfully integrated Zoom viewing parties in partnership with Digicel in an effort to add to the vibe and engagement of fans.

We would like to thank Sunset+Vine for their tireless endeavours which saw a world-class broadcast delivered around the globe in the most difficult of circumstances. We are also hugely grateful to SportsMax Productions who worked flat out to make sure all the equipment needed to put on a production of this standard was in place and working well,” said Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO.

“The success of this year’s tournament would not have been possible without these two key partners.”

 Hero CPL will return to St Kitts & Nevis again in 2022 after the Federation successfully hosted the whole tournament in 2021.

 Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO, said: “The 2021 Hero CPL was an enormous success, and we are hugely grateful to the government and people of St Kitts & Nevis who were fabulous hosts. Warner Park is a fantastic venue, and we are very excited to be back there as St Kitts & Nevis Patriots get their championship defence underway in front of a home crowd.”

 The Hon. Jonel Powell, Minister of Sport for St Kitts & Nevis, said: “The hosting of the CPL in its entirety in 2021 in St Kitts & Nevis proved a success in every way for our people. Tremendous direct economic gains were made in our economy and to individuals at a difficult time due to the pandemic. Our people were able to receive some much-needed ‘Covid relief’ socially through the amazing matches, and our very own St Kitts & Nevis Patriots won its first CPL title in the most dramatic style.

 “This is why we are very pleased to partner with CPL once again as a host venue for their 2022 edition, and to have the opportunity to see our Patriots defend their title right here at historic Warner Park.”

The 2022 season will take place in four countries, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana with the final set to talk place at Providence on September 30.

The Patriots will also retain middle-order batsman Sherfane Rutherford, all-rounder Dominic Drakes as well as fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell and wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva. The Patriots have also brought in Oshane Thomas who was transferred from the Barbados Royals.

The tournament gets underway on 16 August with the final taking place on 24 September. There will be matches in Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

The overseas players and draft picks will be announced during the Republic Bank CPL draft show which will be broadcast at the end of June.

Charles and Joseph are joined by Barbadian middle-order batsman Roston Chase, Roshon Primus, Jeavor Royal, Matthew Forde and McKenny Clarke. The Kings have also secured the services of Khary Pierre who has been transferred to the team from the Trinbago Knight Riders.

The tournament gets underway on 16 August with the final taking place on 24 September. There will be matches in Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

The overseas players and draft picks will be announced during the Republic Bank CPL draft show which will be broadcast at the end of June 2023.

The Warriors will now take on Barbados Royals on Friday with the winner of that match contesting the final with Kings on Sunday.

Winning the toss and batting first proved a wise decision given the forecast and Faf du Plessis led from the front once more for his side. An opening stand of 124 runs between himself and Johnson Charles ensured the Kings posted a challenging total of 198-5 off their twenty overs.

Charles was starting to eye up a three-figure score when he was well caught on the long-on boundary by Keemo Paul off the bowling of Moeen Ali for 79 off 45 deliveries. Du Plessis then fell for a well-made half-century of his own, the Kings captain forced to depart after Rahmanullah Gurbaz held on to an exceptional catch from a firmly hit shot down the ground off Shamar Joseph.

The Warriors bowlers did well to keep the score down to a manageable target with Moeen Ali once again being the standout performer with the ball, figures of 2/24 off his four overs showcasing all his experience.

In response, the Warriors had reached 106-4 at the end of the 13th over before the persistent drizzle turned into heavier rain and the players were taken off the field by the umpires. Unfortunately for the 2023 CPL champions it then did not relent meaning that they were behind the required run rate on DLS calculations when the match was called off over an hour later.

Still requiring 92 runs off the remaining 42 deliveries when the weather intervened the Warriors would have still fancied their chances of hauling down the total with a well-set Shimron Hetmyer looking dangerous with 37 off 18 balls and with Moeen Ali having just joined him.

Hetmyer had just opened his shoulders to hit four sixes in quick succession off Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase, despite this injection of runs the Warriors were comfortably behind the required DLS score of 121 when the rain decisively intervened.

The Warriors will have a chance of setting up a re-match with a victory over Barbados Royals in the final eliminator match on Friday evening. Saint Lucia Kings will await either side in Sunday’s final with an inaugural CPL title very much in their sights.

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

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

So far this year’s edition of the tournament, which has been staged in the unusual circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, has in many instances produced low scores and poor batting performances. 

There have been many factors blame for some of the poor showing, the absence of a crowd, poorly prepared pitches, and players that are still rusty, are some of a few that have been advanced.  However, another is the length of time some players have been away from family and friends in back-to-back quarantine-required competition.

For players like West Indies captain Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jermaine Blackwood, Shai Hope, and other members of the regional team that toured England, the CPL follows several weeks of quarantine during the international series.  With even more restrictive conditions in the CPL, Radcliffe believes the isolation could be taking its toll.

“I’m not making excuses for them but some of those guys have been in a bubble in the UK for two or three months earlier in the summer.  I think some were back in Barbados for about 5 days before heading back to Trinidad for another bubble,” Radcliffe told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“They’ve barely been home in the last 3 and a half months, that’s no excuse, but it does have an effect.  It is attritional, even if you are away from home for those times normally on tour you can go to a restaurant, you can eat out, meet up with your family and get away from cricket…it does have a mental effect.”

The 36-year-old Bravo reported to the Super Kings IPL camp in Dubai with a knee injury, which he picked up during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) earlier this month.  The player has, however, since been cleared to return to the line-up but based on an agreement with the management team the West Indian will not be back in the lineup early.

So far, the Super Kings have already played three IPL games.  In Bravo’s absence, Englishman Sam Curran has been performing the overseas allrounder's job well, for the moment.

Bravo made history during last month’s CPL after becoming the first player in history to take 500 T20 wickets.  In addition, his Trinbago Knight Riders captured a fourth title on the back of an unbeaten season.  Bravo, who leads the CPL with most wickets taken, is currently 5^th on the list of most career wickets in the IPL with 147.  The list is topped by Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga who has claimed 172.  The West Indian, however, tops the list for most wickets claimed in a tournament, with 32, a feat he accomplished during the 2013 edition.

The Royals won the toss and captain Jason Holder chose to field first, which looked like a good decision as the Kings lost two wickets in the Powerplay to the superb Mohammad Amir. However, Saint Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis once again produced a masterful performance, scoring 84 runs to take his side to a commanding 175 for 6.

Despite a strong start in reply, the Royals were sent into disarray in the ninth over as Wiese took three wickets, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Glenn Phillips all fell within five balls. Despite a late fightback from Holder and Hayden Walsh, it was not enough and the side finished on 154 for 8. 

Saint Lucia Kings had reshuffled their batting order for this game, with Mark Deyal opening, yet it was to have little effect as both Andre Fletcher and Deyal were back in the pavilion after three overs, with Amir once again getting early wickets. It was left to du Plessis to build a big score, scoring 84 from 54 balls, partnering effectively with Tim David. A late cameo from Keemo Paul with the bat saw the Kings reach a substantial total. 

The Royals lost Kyle Mayers in the third over but rebuilt with Charles and Hope looking confident at the crease. However, after three wickets fell in an over, they were unable to recover, losing more wickets as the run rate increased, notably Holder, who was looking dangerous on 34 runs off 24 balls. A rain delay saw their innings reduced by one over, and Walsh resumed play with a few boundaries to keep his side’s hopes alive. However, Wiese struck again and took Walsh’s wicket in the 19th over, his fifth wicket of the game,  giving the Kings the crucial win.

With this loss, Barbados Royals can no longer qualify for Tuesday’s semi-finals and will be playing for pride when they face the Saint Lucia Kings once again in their final group game tomorrow.

Former England batsman Roland Butcher does not believe West Indies Test cricket captain Jason Holder should be recalled to the T20 squad, despite several recent creditable performances in the format.

The all-rounder last represented the regional team in the shortest format of the game in India last year.  Since the resumption of cricket, however, the player has put in a few notable T20 performances.  In the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Holder was the Barbados Tridents' third-highest scorer with 192 runs in 10 matches and had a high score of 69.  He also made an impact with the ball after claiming 10 wickets, the second-most on the team.

Despite not being initially drafted to the Indian Premier League (IPL), Holder was called up to replace Mitchell Marsh by Sunrisers Hyderabad.  In three matches he has managed to claim six wickets so far.  Albeit being currently just outside of the playoff spots, the Sunrisers are still in contention with a handful of games to go.  The player has, however, not been included in the T20 squad to face New Zealand next month, which Butcher insists is the right call, at this point in time.

“I think Jason, based on his performance in the CPL, could have come in for some consideration, but again, I wouldn’t want to burden Jason, with all the different disciplines he has to play already,” Butcher told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“He’s doing well as Test captain.  He’s an integral part of the 50-over side as a player.  Why would you want to go and force T20 on him at this point in time? He’s one of our player’s that’s performing so why would we want to overload him so that he doesn’t perform.”

The Tallawahs, champions in 2013 and 2016, won only three of 11 games and were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Trinbago Knight Riders in what was a lop-sided affair.

Powell, who scored 33 in that semi-final loss, his best score of the season, had an otherwise disastrous season with the bat.

Prior to last week’s semi-final match, Powell had scores of 8, 23, 2, 4, 1, 2, 5, and 2. He was equally poor with the ball, failing to take a wicket while conceding 109 runs in a season he would want to quickly forget.

However, notwithstanding the disappointing season, Miller said both still have his full support.

“I am going to fully back the coach and I am going to fully back the captain. They both did the job at hand with the personnel that they had. I am not going to bash any of them,” he said.

“This is a team, not individuals and both of them did as much as they can with the personnel that they had.”

That said, Miller concedes that the Tallawahs went into the season knowing that they had deficiencies in the batting. Andre McCarthy, for example, was unable to travel to Trinidad for the tournament after being exposed to someone who was infected with the COVID-19 virus. His absence was missed.

“We can see from the performance that we were lacking that one batsman who was a specialist batsman who would come in a serve a purpose and we would have the big hitters around that batsman, but unfortunately, we did not have that one specialist batsman and it showed up in our performances from the batters,” Miller said.

“McCarthy, or any other specialist batsman, would have helped us out this year.”

In a recent interview on Sportsnation Live on Nationwide Radio in Kingston, Miller spoke highly of Russell and expressed optimism about Dre Russ’ return next season.

“Andre is a team player. I can’t say more about the support he has given us. He has been a tremendous voice in the dressing room; he has been a mentor to Rovman Powell (JT team captain). He has been involved in our discussions and I would anticipate that Mr Russell will be back next year.”

Miller’s confidence belies the outburst from the former Tallawahs captain in April when in a rant on an Instagram Live, he declared that he would not return to the team after the just-concluded season.

Russell’s outburst was made in the wake of former teammate Chris Gayle announcing that he would not be playing for the Tallawahs for the 2020 season.

In that rant, Russell revealed that he only heard about Chris Gayle’s departure from the team when Gayle sent him a copy of a report in the Jamaica Gleaner that suggested that the self-proclaimed Universe Boss was not going to be retained by the two-time CPL champions and that there were going to changes to the coaching staff.

That information, when combined with statements from Marlon Samuels that suggested that Russell knew about Gayle's departure and that Gayle's subsequent comments, gave the impression that he knew what was going on behind the scenes.

The perception infuriated Russell, who took to social media to clear the air.

“I have another year’s contract with the Tallawahs and I am going to play and try and win because that is all I play for, but this will be my last because I have been getting mixed up with all these (expletive) that is happening and I can’t be playing cricket and I am not comfortable,” he said.

“And I think another franchise that has been coming last and fifth and fourth in CPL will appreciate me more. I am not getting it here.”

Russell was among the few standout players for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the recently concluded season of the Hero CPL, scoring 222 runs at an average of 44.40 and at a healthy strike rate of 141.40. He scored three 50s.

However, the Tallawahs only won three of their 11 games in the competition. They were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions, the Trinbago Knight Riders.