Hero Cpl

Powell was appointed captain last season when the two-time CPL champions struggled to find consistency and missed the playoffs after only winning four of their 10 matches.

However, come next season, Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller expects Powell to work more closely with the new coaching staff headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

“I think that Chanderpaul along with the assistant coaches has expressed that to Rovman," Miller revealed in a recent interview with Sportsmax.TV.

"We have been having some great meetings and I think this year we will see that all-inclusive where the player, as the captain, is involved in all aspects of team management, selection, etcetera,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV.

“I think we will see a different side of him (Rovman) this year.”

Turning his attention to Brandon King, who has been brought in to open the batting, Miller said the former Amazon Warrior will be given the opportunity to express himself in the coming season.

“Brandon is another dynamic player and we believe that having Brandon at the top of the order with Kennar (Lewis) will produce some exciting games, and Brandon also wanted to come home and we gave him that opportunity to play for the Tallawahs and express himself and we know how Brandon can express himself,” Miller said.

The CEO also hinted that the international players who have been signed will be very suited for the potentially spin-friendly pitches in Guyana that will host several matches including the CPL finals for the next three years. 

"When you see our international players then you will see why we selected those players because they will make a difference in Guyana," said Miller, who also expressed confidence that the Tallawahs will give a good account of themselves in the 2022 season.

"I am confident about the team. Look, we have a dream team support staff - Chanderpaul, Sir Curtly Ambrose, we have Andre Coley. We have an announcement to make in the coming days pertaining to our manager and that will really cement our support staff."

The tournament won by the Barbados Tridents took place from September 4 to October 12.

According to the CPL, the figure of US$136,542,868, representing a 7.21 per cent increase over 2018,  was calculated using organiser spend, visitor spend and media value and was collated for the tournament by world-renowned researchers, YouGov Sport.

“With Hero CPL showing the Caribbean in the best possible light in continues to be a wonderful way for the region to promote itself to the rest of the world. We have now had seven editions of the CPL and our total economic impact on the region is now worth hundreds of millions of US dollars,” said the Hero CPL Chief Executive Officer, Damien O’Donohoe in commenting on the numbers.

“This shows we are making a positive impact in all the countries we host games in. We are here to stay, making a positive economic contribution, improving our environmental impact and developing cricketers who are going to succeed in West Indies colours.”

The 34 match tournament took place in six Caribbean countries, with games taking place in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago.

 The tournament increased the positive economic impact it made on each of those countries in 2019 compared with the figures from 2018.

In addition to that economic impact figure, the Hero CPL employed more than 1500 staff, filled 36,830 hotel rooms and saw an overall increase in arrivals into the host countries by those arriving to watch CPL matches.

“The CPL takes place at a time (August/September) when there are fewer tourist arrivals into the Caribbean and it is therefore pleasing to see the tournament help increase the in-bound numbers across all the markets where CPL is played,” tournament organisers said.

“We are also delighted that Caribbean nationals who live overseas choose CPL as a time to combine visits home to see family and friends - reinforcing our objective of uniting local communities through their love of cricket and country.”

The tournament also worked to decrease its impact on the environment, with positive results from a recycling scheme in Trinidad, which the CPL will be looking to replicate across the region. It also raised money for hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas with the help of fans and commercial partners.

The total economic impact for Guyana in 2022 was S$84,425,587, a 186 per cent increase on the figure from the last time the country hosted Hero CPL matches in 2019.

The vision of His Excellency Irfaan Ali in showcasing the country’s many creative and social attributes whilst making the country the entertainment capital of the region for two weeks in September, led to the most successful hosting of any CPL finals.

Businesses across the country benefited from the significant uplift of in-bound tourism during September last year, as people travelled to be part of the Biggest Party in Sport. The fans certainly didn’t disappoint with almost 50,000 attending the playoff games alone.

With CPL spending more time in Guyana than previous years along with the change to the tournament structure where all six teams, TV production crew and tournament staff travelled as one cohort CPL’s direct spend increased significantly, with one metric showing a total of 25,783 hotel room nights filled across the tournament, a 236 per cent increase on the figure from 2019.

This report was generated by independent, world-renowned research company, YouGov Sport, with the make-up of the values including the total spent by Hero CPL to put on the 2022 event, the value of media exposure for the country from the broadcast of matches and the money spent with local business by those who travelled into Guyana for the tournament.

The total viewership for the 2022 Hero CPL also smashed all records as it increased to 721.8million. This is the third successive year that the tournament has generated a viewership figure of over half a billion.

“The reception for the Hero CPL in Guyana last year exceeded anything we have seen before, and we are hugely grateful for the vision of His Excellency Irfaan Ali, who masterminded the Cricket Carnival concept and showed how cricket can deliver significant economic value when planned alongside other entertainment initiatives,” said Pete Russell, Hero CPL CEO.

“We are so grateful for the amazing support we continue to receive in Guyana and are thankful that we have been able to repay the country with these fantastic numbers. We can’t wait to make an even bigger impact in 2023."

The Hero CPL is being streamed on Sportsmax. Download the app.

According to a statement from the CPL, all those who travelled into Trinidad for the tournament have now returned four negative tests and local residents, who have entered the Hero CPL bubble have tested negative for the second time.

“We are very pleased that the plans we put in place in order to make this tournament happen under the most testing of circumstances have meant that we have cricket taking place on the field,” said Hero CPL’s Tournament Operations Director Michael Hall.

“As everyone around the world knows, the key now is remaining vigilant and making sure the protocols that we put in place are followed. We are delighted to have got the cricket underway.”

The tournament organisers will carry out further tests throughout the event while also maintaining stringent social distancing protocols to ensure that both they and the wider public in Trinidad & Tobago remain safe and healthy.

 The victory means the two teams will do it all again on Tuesday in the first qualifier. 

 The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first, and that proved to be an inspired decision. On a fresh surface, their seamers wreaked havoc taking three wickets inside the PowerPlay to leave the Royals in disarray.

Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the 125 the Royals mustered was never likely to be enough on a track that offered good value for positive stroke play. 

The Royals were able to take two early wickets of their own when they had their turn to bowl restricting the Amazon Warriors to 18-2 but that was as good as it got. 

 Shakib Al-Hasan produced a scintillating half-century to put the Amazon Warriors on the cusp of victory and the remaining batters saw the chase home to win the game inside 15 overs.

 Earlier Guyana Amazon Warriors had utilised the movement on offer to unleash their cadre of seamers on the Royals. Romario Shepherd, Keemo Paul and Odean Smith all weighed in with wickets to leave the Royals 97-9 and it was only late cameos from Ramon Simmonds and Mujeeb Ur Rahman that enabled the Royals to post 125.

 Although the Amazon Warriors lost Chandrapaul Hemraj and Shai Hope in the PowerPlay, Shakib played an enterprising innings to take the drama out of the chase. His knock of 53 came off 30 balls and laid the foundation for the Amazon Warriors to win with five over to spare.

 The two sides will now do battle again in the first qualifier on Tuesday to determine who will earn the right to go straight to the Hero CPL final.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 126-5 (Shakib 53, Gurbaz 22; McCoy 2-22, Mayers 1-20) beat Barbados Royals 125 (Holder 42, Khan 20; Shepherd 3-14, Paul 2-9) by 5 wickets.

 The Barbados Royals won the toss and chose to field, getting off to a dream start by removing opener Brandon King for a duck. However, once again it was captain Rovman Powell who took charge for the Tallawahs, scoring his second successive half-century to take his side to 153-7 after 20 overs. 

In their chase, Barbados Royals bounced back after the early dismissal of Kyle Mayers with their South African contingent of Quinton de Kock, Corbin Bosch and captain David Miller combining across the innings to guide the side to victory by eight wickets.

Jamaica Tallawahs lost King in the first over as Mayers demonstrated his ability with the ball. Amir Jangoo and Powell formed a 57-run partnership that was supported by some power-hitting later on from Raymon Reifer and Fabian Allen. West Indies fast bowler Obed McCoy was the stand-out bowler for the Royals, taking 3 wickets for 24 runs as the Tallawahs finished on 153-7. 

Barbados Royals were in early trouble in their chase as opener Mayers was dismissed in the second over, but a magnificent partnership of 117 runs between de Kock and Bosch stifled the Tallawah bowlers. Once Bosch lost his wicket, Miller came in and scored 16 runs off 8 balls in a nervy finish to take his side across the line with just one ball to spare. 

 The win means Barbados Royals maintain their unbeaten start to the season and retain their spot at the top of the league table, while Jamaica Tallawahs remain second. 

The Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to field, but a brilliant opening stand of 85 runs between Kyle Mayers and Quinton De Kock built the platform for Barbados Royals to score an imposing 194/4 after their 20 overs, with captain David Miller playing an exceptional innings, scoring 60 runs from just 36 balls.

In a chase that was affected by rain, Trinbago Knight Riders suffered a batting collapse, losing six wickets in the powerplay before rain brought a premature end to proceedings with the score at 51-7 after 8 overs, the Royals winning on DLS by 80 runs. 

Barbados Royals got off to a sensational start, making their highest powerplay score so far of the season with 67 runs, Mayers scoring 45 of those. After losing the wickets of both openers, Miller continued the momentum with some big shots, frustrating the Knight Rider’s bowling attack, before a late batting cameo from Jason Holder took the side to 194/4. 

Trinbago Knight Riders lost a flurry of wickets early in their chase, with Devon Thomas taking the big wickets of Tim Seifert and Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard with his off-spin. Obed McCoy took the wicket of Nicholas Pooran with the last ball of the powerplay before Andre Russell lost his wicket in the following over. Heavy rain forced an early end to the match with eight overs bowled and the Knight Riders 51-7, with the Royals winning on DLS by 80 runs. 

 The win means Barbados Royals maintain their 100 per cent start to the tournament while Trinbago Knight Riders have suffered their first defeat of the season.

 Scores: Barbados Royals 194/4 (Miller 60, Mayers 52; Narine 1/23, Russell 1/33) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 51/7 (Munro 12, Russell 9 ; Thomas 2/4, McCoy 2/11)  by 80 runs (DLS). 

The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and that appeared to be the right decision. 

Taking wickets at regular intervals the Amazon Warriors made it difficult for the Royals to negotiate the conditions and only a late order rally from Jason Holder and Mujeeb Ur Rahman ensured the Royals ended with a reasonable total of 107-6 from an innings shortened to 16 overs due to rain.

However, that total proved more than enough as the Royals' bowling attack offered no freebies when the Amazon Warriors came to bat.

Led by Mujeeb and Rahkeem Cornwall they ensured the run rate become untenable as the Royals cruised to victory. Guyana Amazon Warriors’ cadre of spinners imposed themselves on the game taking all six wickets to fall in the Barbados Royals innings.

 Having reduced the Royals to 62-5 when the rain delay came, Imran Tahir then removed David Miller immediately after the restart but Jason Holder and Mujeeb Ur Rahman compiled a 39-run partnership off 16 balls to give the Royals a total to defend.

 111 to win suggested an advantage to Amazon Warriors but Mujeeb and Rahkeem Cornwall produced spell-binding bowling in the first four overs to restrict the Warriors to 12 runs for the loss of one wicket.

The Amazon Warriors couldn’t get going as a disciplined Royals bowling performance increased the pressure with a plethora of dot balls. 

 In the end, what should have been a tight game became an easy win for the Royals as they coasted to victory by 29 runs.

Scores: Barbados Royals 107-6 (Holder 40, Cornwall 20; Hemraj 3-15, Sinclair 2-12) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 81-9 (Smith 15, Hetmyer 12; Cornwall 2-12, Simmonds 2-21) by 29 runs (DLS)

The Royals won the toss and opted to field first and that proved an inspired decision as they made regular inroads into the Kings' top order to leave them teetering on 90-5.

However, the international pair of Tim David and David Wiese put together a rescue act to ensure the Kings posted a respectable total for their bowlers to try and defend.

That total never looked enough in the Barbados Royals' reply as Corbin Bosch arrived with the bat in the Hero CPL to lead his side to victory.

 Earlier on the Kings had posted what looked like a competitive total of 169-6. Reaching 50-1 at the end of the PowerPlay a solid foundation was established for their middle and lower order to capitalise on.

 However, the Royals were excellent in the middle section of the innings. Led by Hayden Walsh’s miserly leg-spin bowling they took wickets in regular clusters to reduce the Kings from 57-1 to 90-5.

 Tim David and David Wiese refused to succumb to the pressure and they counter-attacked brilliantly to put on a 79-run partnership from 43 balls to ensure a potential defendable total was put on the board.

 170 to win should have proved tricky for the Royals to chase but despite losing opener Quinton De Kock for a golden duck, Kyle Mayers and Corbin Bosch plundered 84 runs from 48 balls to put their side well ahead of the game.

 Even after Mayers departed, Bosch continued to have fruitful partnerships with Azam Khan and David Miller respectively until the all-rounder was eventually dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 81 from 50 balls.

 After Bosch departed it was Miller and Holder who saw out the rest of the chase with minimum fuss to make it four wins from four for the impressive Barbados Royals.

Brave Bison has a global community of 158 million followers, generating billions of views each month.

The partnership will see Brave Bison help lead the management of content, channels, rights, monetization and audience development for the CPL across YouTube. Under the agreement, Hero CPL will join the already established community of leading sports organizations that Brave Bison manages across YouTube, including Australian Open, US Open & PGA TOUR.

First started in 2013, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. There was a combined broadcast and digital viewership of over 500 million during the 2020 season to make it one of the fastest-growing leagues in world cricket.

Brave Bison and CPL T20 will work closely together to grow and optimize the organization’s YouTube channel by entertaining the existing audience of 823k subscribers with the sports content they love most and at the same time will identify opportunities to reach new, broader audiences. Brave Bison will also act as a consultant on best practices and creative and innovative content strategies.

“We’re really excited to be partnering with CPL T20 and to be adding one of the premier events in World Cricket to our roster of major global sporting events. We were really impressed by CPL T20’s growth in 2020 and can’t wait to scale new heights with them in 2021!” said Rich Pilcher, Head of Sports at Brave Bison.

“Hero CPL has seen phenomenal growth across our digital channels in recent years, delivering hundreds of millions of views and gaining over 6.5 million followers.

“It is exciting to take forward our YouTube strategy in conjunction with Brave Bison as it is a very important channel for us.  Brave Bison’s expertise and portfolio of clients are hugely impressive and we look forward to starting an exciting journey with them.”

The Patriots have brought in two players from other franchises. They have signed Dwayne Bravo from Trinbago Knight Riders in a trade deal that saw Denesh Ramdin go the other way. They have also signed Sherfane Rutherford from Guyana Amazon Warriors.

In addition to these two signings, they have retained Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Jon Russ Jaggesar and Rayad Emrit.

Exciting young prospects Joshua da Silva and Dominic Drakes round out the retentions.

The Patriots have eight spots to fill to complete their squad and these will be announced in the coming weeks.

“The St Kitts and Nevis Franchise extends a warm welcome to the new players joining us this year as well as to our retained core team for yet another exciting season of the Hero CPL. This year makes it extra special with us playing at our home – Warner Park. I would like to thank all our team players, support staff and management as well as our global fan base for their continued love and support. I look forward to an amazing season in 2021,” said Patriots owner Mahesh Ramani.

The retained players are Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit.

Chasing 161-7 set by the Barbados Royals, the Tallawahs achieved the target with 23 balls to spare, ending on 162-2.

Brandon King was unbeaten on 83 after hitting the winning six off Obed McCoy to seal the third CPL title for the Jamaica-based franchise.

Captain Rovman Powell was unbeaten on 14 at the other end.

Scores: Barbados Royals 161-7; Jamaica Tallawahs 162-2.

More to come…

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

The Patriots won the toss and stand-in captain Chris Gayle chose to bat first, yet it turned out to be a trial by spin as they faltered for 118 all out against the turn of Jeavor Royal and Samit Patel.

The Kings got off to the worst possible start in their chase, losing Andre Fletcher to a Fabian Allen delivery in the very first ball of the innings. They rebuilt via Roston Chase to comfortably reach their target of 119.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots lost their two explosive batsmen in the PowerPlay overs, as Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle were dismissed early. Youngster Royal was the stand out bowler with three wickets while Patel was the most economical. A mix-up saw the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford run out and while Fabian Allen tried to give his side a big finish, he was dismissed in the 19th over.  

Despite losing Fletcher in the first ball of the innings, Saint Lucia Kings still had the dangerous Faf du Plessis, who raced to 22 off 14 balls, before being caught out. The in-form Roston Chase ended up seeing his side home with a superb innings that saw him reach yet another half-century, this time in 36 six balls, his third in a row at this year’s Hero CPL.

The Kings chased their target in the 16th over as the powerful Tim David helped take them over the line with a rapid 18 runs off 7 balls.    

Saint Lucia Kings now have their third consecutive win of the tournament and move closer to the top spot of the league standings.

Saint Lucia Kings 121-4 (Chase 51*, du Plessis 22; Allen 2-30, Naseem 1-11) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 118 all out (Allen 34, Thomas 28; Royal 3-20, Patel 2-15) by six wickets.

According to the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, the CPL will present a proposal to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his cabinet for T&T’s consideration as host for the eighth edition. The CPL is proposing to play four matches a day in T&T, two at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain and two at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando, the Guardian reported.

However, sources inside the CPL tell Sportsmax.TV that no final decision has been made about where the tournament would be held this year.

“CPL are looking at a number of scenarios that allow the tournament to go ahead in a way that is both safe and deliverable,” said a CPL spokesperson.

“Our plans are not yet finalised but we are working flat out to get to a point where we can tell our fans what we have in place. As soon as we are able to do so we will let you know the full details.”

Meantime, the Guardian is reporting that originally, CPL hinted that the tournament could be played in two or three countries but there has been a change of heart and T&T has now been given the opportunity to take the entire tournament.

The Barbados Tridents are the defending champions.

The St Lucia Zouks squad and the members of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad, who travelled into Trinidad have tested negative for COVID-19 and they will begin training today, with other teams doing so in the coming days.

Results from further testing of all other members of the travelling cohort are expected today after a second round of testing on Monday.

“We have been extremely careful in how we have gone about introducing those who are resident in Trinidad & Tobago into the tournament bubble and these tests coming back negative is very good news for the tournament. We will continue to be vigilant to ensure the health and well-being of everyone, both inside the tournament bubble and the wider public,” said  Michael Hall, Tournament Operations Director.

The tournament gets underway on August 18 and will see 33 games played at two venues in Trinidad. The first match will be played on September 10.

The Saint Lucia Kings won the toss and chose to bat, as they did in their semi-final match. Despite losing wickets at key stages of the game, they built a total around the batting of Roston Chase, who stabilised the innings, allowing the likes of Rahkeem Cornwall and Keemo Paul to play with attacking intent and guide them to 159-7.

In what was a dramatic final, the Patriots managed to successfully chase their target with Dominic Drakes the hero with the bat, scoring 48 off 24 balls and securing a remarkable victory with the last ball of the match.

Saint Lucia Kings started their innings with the loss of both captain Andre Fletcher and Mark Deyal in the Powerplay.

Cornwall got the innings back on track with some power hitting but the Patriots utilised spin to great effect; Fabian Allen, Jon-Russ Jaggesar and Fawad Ahmed working in unison to pick up three wickets in the middle overs and leave the Kings in peril. Roston Chase anchored the innings and a late burst from Paul, which saw him hit three consecutive sixes in an over as he scored 39 runs off just 21 balls, took the Kings to a challenging total.

It was a dream start for the Kings with the ball, as Chris Gayle was bowled by a Chase delivery, and not long after, Evin Lewis was caught out, with Chase being the fielder.

Joshua da Silva and Sherfane Rutherford began to rebuild, but quick wickets, including that of captain DJ Bravo, saw the Patriots in trouble at 95-5. However, things would take a dramatic turn as Drakes recorded his highest ever score in cricket, firing six boundaries to take the Patriots over the line in dramatic fashion with a single off the last ball.

In a contest worthy of any final, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots prevailed and lifted their maiden Hero CPL title in front of a joyous home crowd.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 160-7 (Drakes 48*, Da Silva 37; Riaz 2-36, Chase 1-17) beat Saint Lucia Kings 159-7 (Cornwall 43, Chase 43; Naseem 2-26, Fawad 2-32) by three wickets.

The Kings won the toss and opted to bat first, and their captain Faf Du Plessis showed why with a magnificent century to lead the way.

His 103 came off 59 balls to help his side set the highest team total in the Hero CPL this year. An outstanding 194-5 looked like an unshakeable target but the Amazon Warriors had other ideas.

Rahmunullah Gurbaz and Chandrapaul Hemraj got the Amazon Warriors' reply off to a fantastic start reaching 71 runs at the end of the PowerPlay and that enabled the Warriors to always be in the hunt for victory. Despite a flurry of wickets after the PowerPlay, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer paced the chase superbly and the Warriors were able to get home with four balls to spare. 

Earlier the Kings had shown what a good wicket it was, teeing off from ball one to reach 100 runs in 10 overs. Du Plessis was faultless in his stroke play targeting all corners of the ground and brought up his century in the 17^th over of the match.

Late runs from Roston Chase helped the Kings set the Warriors 195 to win but if the chase seemed insurmountable the Warriors made light of it in front of a fever-pitch Providence crowd.

 Gurbaz set the tone in the PowerPlay blasting 52 off 26 balls and this laid the platform for Hope and Hetmyer to pace the remainder of the chase appropriately. When Hetmyer fell for 36, Hope simply took up the mantle leading the Warriors home with a superb half-century.

 His 59 runs came off 30 balls as he made it back-to-back fifties in the Hero CPL and consecutive wins for the Amazon Warriors.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 195-4 (Hope 59*, Gurbaz 52; Deyal 2-32, Joseph 1-20) beat Saint Lucia Kings 194-5 (Du Plessis 103, Dickwella 36; Al Hasan 2-33, Shepherd 1-19) by 6 wickets.

The Patriots bowled brilliantly and then backed that up with a dominant batting display that saw them knock off the victory target with 32 balls to spare. 

 It was Evin Lewis who was the star of the show, making 102 from just 52 balls. 

 The Knight Riders got off to a slow start in the face of some excellent bowling from the Patriots. They reached the end of their PowerPlay at 28-2 with both Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin dismissed caught on the mid-wicket boundary. Ramdin could have gone an over earlier, but Ravi Bopara put down a simple chance. Thankfully for the Patriots, this did not prove too costly. 

A 50-run stand between Darren Bravo and Colin Munro steadied the ship and brought the Knight Riders back into the contest. Munro would go on to top score with 47 but when Darren Bravo went for 22 the Knight Riders lost momentum once again. When Munro and Kieron Pollard went in successive balls bowled by Jon-Russ Jaggesar it looked as if the Knight Riders would set a sub-par total but some big hitting from Sunil Narine took his team to 159-7. 

 The Patriots innings got off to a flying start thanks to Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle who was promoted to open as a result of an injury to Devon Thomas. They reached 67-1 from their PowerPlay overs with Gayle the wicket to fall for 35 from 18 balls. 

When Gayle went it was Lewis who took up the attack, passing his fifty from just 27 balls. While Narine was economical, returning figures of 0/10 from his four overs, the rest of the Knight Riders bowlers struggled for control in the face of the Lewis onslaught. 

Bopara and Lewis shared an 85-run stand, and Bopara contributed just seven runs as the Patriots opener smashed the ball to all parts. 

 This win moves the Patriots back to the top of the table and guarantees them a space in the semi-finals on Tuesday 14 September. 

Scores: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 160-2 (Lewis 102*, Gayle 35; Pollard 1-20, Khan 1-54) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 159-7 (Munro 47, Narine 32*; Jaggesar 3-32, Drakes 3-32) by eight wickets

 St Kitts and Nevis Patriots won the toss and chose to field first with Brandon King and Kennar Lewis getting the Tallawahs off to a fast start, scoring 43 runs in the first 4 overs. The spin of Akila Dananjaya and Rashid Khan got the Patriots back into the game by taking wickets and restricting runs, before a late show from all-rounder Raymon Reifer took the Tallawahs to 139-5 after their 20 overs.

In a chase reduced to 15 overs by rain, Andre Fletcher led St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to a comfortable victory with an innings of 45, not out that was supported by big hitting from Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo. 

Jamaica Tallawahs got off to a sublime start in their innings, King and Lewis combining well before Khan struck to take the wicket of Lewis in the powerplay.  Leading run-scorer and captain for the Tallawahs, Rovman Powell, was then run out after a brilliant piece of fielding from youngster Dewald Brevis to put the Tallawahs in trouble. However, a late partnership between Reifer and Fabian Allen managed to add 39 runs to the tally as the Tallawahs ended on 139-5.

With rain reducing the target to 113 runs in 15 overs, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots raced to 49-0 after 5 overs, with Fletcher and Lewis proving destructive. Imad Wasim struck with the first ball of his spell, removing Lewis, however, Darren Bravo came in and formed a 55-run partnership with Fletcher to help take the Patriots to an eight-wicket win (DLS).

 Scores: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 113-2 (Fletcher 45*, DM Bravo 39; Allen 1-19, Wasim 1-19) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 139-5 (Reifer 40*, Lewis 24; Khan 1-8, Rutherford 2-11) by 8 wickets (DLS)