Lendl Simmons

Smith led the way with a 24-ball 36, while Simmons contributed 21 off 11 balls, which assisted Riders to 97 for four off their allotment, at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.

Simmons, 38, put on 29 for the first wicket with captain Robin Uthappa (24), and added another 28 in a second-wicket partnership Smith, who had four boundaries in his knock.

Former Pakistan seamer Sohail Khan was the chief destroyer for the Warriors, as he claimed three for 21, with former West Indies seamer Jerome Taylor taking the other wicket.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal struck a brisk 34 off 11 balls, including three fours and three sixes, in a 63-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who struck 28 from 14 balls.

Though former Bangladesh left-arm spinner Elias Sunny slowed their progress, snaring two of the three wickets that fell in quick succession, former West Indies all-rounder Jonathan Carter and Shahid Afridi took the game away from the Riders, with an unbroken 40-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Carter struck one boundary and a maximum in his 17, while Afridi was unbeaten on 22.

Sunny ended with two wickets for 11 runs.

Another former West Indies player Chris Barnwell struck an unbeaten 28 off a mere 10 deliveries to lead New Jersey Tritons to victory over the Warriors on Sunday.

Barnwell’s knock, which included four sixes saw the Tritons chased down 85 in a contest reduced to five overs per side due to rain.

Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons were also the players whose names were released on Tuesday by the PSL. They are among 25 international players who will be available for the six-team competition even though some of them will only be available for a part of the season due to a packed international calendar during the February to March window.

Gayle has played previously in the PSL for the Karachi Kings and the Lahore Qalanders.

Other notable players who are in the draft pool include Imran Tahir, Chris Jordan, Chris Lyn, Mohammed Nabi, Alex Hales and Morne Morkel.

The 25 foreign players have been placed in the 'Platinum' category, from which the six franchises will select.

Simmons slammed a whirlwind 96 from just 63 balls, registering 7 fours and a towering 6 sixes.  His performance anchored a 174 innings for the Tridents, who then restricted St Kitts to 115 to score an eighth straight win.

Prior to the fireworks, Simmons had eked out an average season to date, registering scores of 32 and 25 against the Barbados Tridents and Jamaica Tallawahs respectively but with ducks against the Tallawahs and St Lucia Zouks.  According to Simmons, however, being able to bide his time with the team winning and encouragement from his uncle provided the motivation.

“I’ve been struggling for the last couple of games that I played.  I didn’t get the start to the tournament that we wanted but seeing that we were winning it game me confidence that I would come good at some point in time,” Simmons said.

“Last night I had a talk with Phil(Simmons) and he told me what I needed to hear and that reminded me of my ability and talent and what I can do.”

The post further said that Simmons had written a letter to Cricket West Indies last Friday informing them about his decision to become a free agent and pursue opportunities on the franchise circuit.

Simmons' international career spanned 16 years. He represented West Indies in eight Tests, 68 ODIs and 68 T20Is, scoring 3763 runs across all formats. He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2006. His T20I debut came a year later against England at The Oval and he made his Test debut in 2009 against England in Port-of-Spain.

Simmons has also enjoyed a stellar career in franchise cricket representing several teams like Mumbai Indians, Trinbago Knight Riders, Karachi Kings and Sylhet Sunrisers.

He is the leading run-scorer in CPL history with 2629 runs from 91 innings including 20 half-centuries.

He also helped the Mumbai Indians to two IPL titles in 2015 and 2017, scoring a total of 1079 runs from 29 innings during his time with the franchise.

Simmons played a key role in West Indies' triumph during the 2016 T20 World Cup, blasting a 51-ball 82 in the semi-final against hosts India. In total, Simmons scored 1527 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 120.80, with nine half-centuries. 

He last represented West Indies during the 2021 T20 World Cup.

The Golden Republic T20 Bash will see two exciting matches for all cricket fans to enjoy as Guyana celebrates 50 years as a republic on February 23. Emrit and Simmons will be on opposing sides in the feature clash between the Hetmyer Hurricanes and the Rutherford Renegades at 6 p.m.

Emrit, a right-arm medium-fast bowler, has played on several franchise teams globally while Simmons is an attacking top-order batsman, who was a member of the West Indies T20 side that won the T20 World Cup in India in 2016.

In the first game set for 2 p.m. national softball champions, Regal All-Star will take on the up-and-coming Ariel Speed Boat All-Stars.

The event is organized by the Guyana Cricket Board in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Cohesion Department of Culture Youth and Sport.

The West Indies beat back the challenge of the hosts 2-0, completing the route with a seven-wicket win in Pallekele on Friday.

Sent into bat, Sri Lanka recovered from 48-4 in the 12^th over to score 155-6 thanks to Dasun Shanaka’s 31 not out and Thisara Perera’s unbeaten 21 but that wasn’t enough.

In reply, the West Indies, despite the early loss of Lendl Simmons, 9, didn’t have too much trouble chasing the target with a long, powerful batting line-up, where Brandon King scored 43, Shimron Hetmyer was unbeaten on 43 and Andre Russell scored a remarkable 40 not out, inclusive of six sixes.

“Pretty satisfied to leave Sri Lankan shores with a victory, we hadn't won a T20I series in a while,” said Pollard.

The skipper lauded the team for the effort they put into the two games, saying he liked the fact that the intensity remained high over the course of the two games. The West Indies won the first encounter on Wednesdat by 25 runs.  

“The guys executed nicely, the foundation was laid by Brandon King, the young man is finding his feet in international cricket, Russell finished it off and the bowlers were brilliant,” said Pollard.

On Wednesday, the West Indies had a scare after Kusal Perera threatened to take the game away from them. Pollard had said then, that he would reveal his plans for there not to be a repeat.

“He is always looking for the length ball, every time we bowl fuller he tends to miss, our analyst has done a brilliant job, and as I said, it was a total team effort,” he said.

The bowling effort, Pollard said, was better than in the last game and better than it has been in a while.

“We were trying to make them hit to one side of the park only,” he said, pointing out that his team had previously been leaking runs on both sides of the wicket, making it difficult to contain scoring.

Now, Pollard said, it was just for the team to create those performances consistently.

Pollard heads a seasoned squad of players that include the likes of Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and the hard-hitting Nicholas Pooran. Darren Bravo, who will form part of the strong squad will also serve as vice-captain for the team that were semi-finalists last time out.

The T&T selectors have also picked the experienced Jason Mohammed, who is on West Indies duty in Bangladesh as well as former West Indies representatives Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin and Ravi Rampaul.

Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, opener Kjorn Ottley, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales are also in line to represent the team from the twin-island republic that on paper should start as favourites to win the shortened version of the competition in 2021.

The full squad reads: Kieron Pollard (captain), Darren Bravo (vice-captain), Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales, Kjorn Ottley, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre.

Also, among the players retained are Khary Pierre, emerging players Jayden Seales and Amir Jangoo, Tion Webster and Akeal Hosein.

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

“Over the last five years, TKR has built the franchise by consciously bringing back players from Trinidad & Tobago and also developing local talent. We are delighted that all ten of our Caribbean players in the TKR squad for 2020 are from Trinidad & Tobago,” said Venky Mysore, Director of TKR.

The CPL is scheduled to take place between August 19 and September 26 but the tournament organizers are currently watching the current situation with COVID-19 closely and are liaising with medical advisors and governments.

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

Meanwhile, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis have declined invitations to the T20 squad that has been selected for the tour.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a short while ago, the two squads for the proposed tour of New Zealand which will feature three T20 Internationals and two Test matches from November 27 to December 15.

Details of the tour were ratified by CWI’s Board of Directors during a teleconference on Thursday. The Board agreed to the tour in principle, subject to final details on medical and logistical protocols of CWI, New Zealand Cricket and Government of New Zealand.

Left-handed batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer have been recalled to the Test team, as well as all-rounder Keemo Paul. Bravo’s highest Test score of 218 came at the University Oval in Dunedin in 2013.

“The return of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul will bolster the team, I expect that Darren will solidify the top-order, hopefully making it more productive, while Shimron gives the squad more options in the middle-order and it is another opportunity for him to show how good a player he is.  Keemo provides another wicket taking seam option,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.

“The Test team has an opportunity to put into practice the learnings from the tour of England earlier this year.  The team has good all-round depth and I expect them be very competitive. New Zealand is a very good team especially in New Zealand, so we need to be on the top of our game.”

A group of reserves will also travel to help prepare the Test squad during the quarantine period and training camp as well as cover for injuries.

Meanwhile, Andre Fletcher, the experienced wicket-keeper/batsman has been named in the T20I squad for the first time since 2018. There is also a maiden call-up in this format for Kyle Mayers, the all-rounder, who performed well in last month’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

“Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell are two very experienced T20 players who performed very well on the last tour of Sri Lanka and their absence will surely be noted.  However, Andre Fletcher has another opportunity to show us what he can do and what he brings to the table,” Harper said.

“The T20I Team is now getting back into the groove after a nine-month absence from international competition. Fortunately, a number of players have been involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and before that the CPL, so they have had some competitive cricket leading up to this tour. The structure of the tour with the COVID-19 quarantine period, does not give the team any real opportunity for match practice as a team but there are a number of experienced players in the team so, hopefully, they can adapt quickly. 

“In the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup, every T20I series is an important opportunity to fine tune the team, to get our personnel, our compositions and combinations right. For our players to become more attuned to their roles and the team to have a greater understanding of what works best in each situation. So, this is a very important series for us from that perspective and also in an effort to improve our rankings.”

The T20Is will be the start of an 11-month schedule of matches building up to the ICC T20 World Cup, rescheduled for October 2021 in India. The proposed schedule for this tour of New Zealand has the defending T20 World Cup champions starting at Eden Park in Auckland under lights.

The CWI Selection Panel indicated that this upcoming series will form part of the overall planning towards defending the ICC World T20 title. The panel outlined that they will continue to monitor closely the progress of spin bowler Sunil Narine and all other players in the lead-up to the global event.

 Test Squad:

Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul and Kemar Roach.

 Test Reserves:

Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, and Jayden Seales.

 T20 International Squad:

Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, and Kesrick Williams.

 TKR won the toss and elected to field first. This proved an inspired decision as their vaunted bowling attack ran through the Tallawahs top order. However, Carlos Brathwaite and Imad Wasim managed to rebuild the innings to give the Tallawahs a total to try and defend.

In reply, TKR overcame a rain delay to win the game with ease although they had several fielding mishaps to help them on their way. Lendl Simmons returned to form as his 70 lead the way for the Knight Riders.

 With several enforced changes as a result of injuries in the camp, the Tallawahs got their innings off to a poor start with five wickets falling in the PowerPlay.

 At the halfway stage of the innings, they could only muster 34 runs as the TKR bowling combinations of Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Khary Pierre offered no freebies.

 Once Imad Wasim, making his first appearance for the Tallawahs in this Hero CPL, and Brathwaite got their eye in they were able to launch a counter-attack.

 The pair put on an 83-run partnership from 64 balls to rebuild the innings and that was supplemented by some late Andre Russell sixes to give TKR a tricky total to negotiate.

 TKR got their innings off to a watchful start, but Sunil Narine was dismissed just before the heavens opened leading to a rain delay.

 Once play resumed TKR easily chased the 145 required as Simmons and Colin Munro put together a 102-run partnership to ensure there would be no drama in the chase.

Trinbago Knight Riders 145-3 (Simmons 70, Munro 34; Imad 2-19, Pretorius 1-39) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 144-7 (Brathwaite 58, Imad 42; Hosein 2-12, Rampaul 2-26) by seven wickets.

 The Patriots paired Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph with the new ball, but they leaked boundaries to Simmons and Amir Jangoo. But Jangoo’s senior T20 debut was cut short by an excellent pick-up and throw off his own bowling by Cottrell to run him out.

Joseph hit Colin Munro on the hand, and when play resumed after a short shower Munro was unable to continue. Simmons took 11 off Rayad Emrit including a Hero Maximum and then lofted Jon-Russ Jaggesar over midwicket. He followed up with a cut for four, and the Knight Riders were well set at 52/1 off the Powerplay.

Jaggesar and Dominic Drakes kept the Knight Riders boundary-less between the Powerplay and drinks, and Darren Bravo edged just short of Chris Lynn at short third man. At halfway the Knight Riders had only progressed to 68/1.

Simmons and Darren Bravo managed only singles off Emrit. Joseph hit Darren Bravo in the head, but all was well, and Bravo ended a 35 ball streak without a boundary with a pull for four. Simmons too broke free, pulling Emrit for another Hero Maximum, before bringing up 50 off 42 balls with a single.

Simmons hitting Jaggesar straight over his head for his fourth Hero Maximum to bring up the Knight Riders hundred, then cut for four as the Knight Riders took 15 off the over. Emrit went to Cottrell, but he went for 17 as Darren Bravo lofted a Hero Maximum and Simmons picked up two fours. After 15 overs, the Knight Riders were 125/1.

Darren Bravo also hit Drakes for six, bringing up the 100 partnership off just 66 balls. Simmons pulled another Hero Maximum and Bravo creamed a four through extra-cover, making the 16th over another productive one. Emrit went for just four off his last, and Joseph started the 18th well, but Simmons bludgeoned two Hero Maximums to take himself into the 90s and the Knight Riders past 150.

A Patriots bowler finally got a wicket, Cottrell getting Darren Bravo strangled down the leg-side in a good 19th over that went for just 3. Drakes got two wickets in two balls, as Simmons pulled to Cottrell to fall short of a century and Tim Seifert leading-edge and was well caught by Lynn. Raza survived the hat-trick ball, and stand-in captain DJ Bravo smashed the last ball of the innings for a Hero Maximum.

Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre took the new ball for the Knight Riders, and the latter picked up the dangerous Lewis, Tambe, belying his 48 years, took an athletic catch. Lynn and Joshua da Silva broke free off Pierre, each hitting a Hero Maximum with Da Silva also sweeping for four, but even an over of 18 only took the Patriots to 34/1 after six.

Tambe and Anderson Phillip put the squeeze back on, with only one boundary between the Powerplay and drinks, and at halfway the Patriots needed almost 12 an over. A Tambe maiden pushed that above 13, and with Da Silva going at barely a run a ball and Lynn going at well under four an over there had to be an acceleration soon.

It didn’t come off DJ Bravo, and while Da Silva drove Tambe for four, he was deceived by the Indian leg-spinner and drove a catch back to the bowler. At the end of Tambe’s outstanding spell, the Patriots were 67/2 off 13 and needed well over 15 an over.

Lynn climbed into a DJ Bravo full toss, but then sliced high in the air and was well caught by Raza to end a disappointing innings. Ben Dunk smashed Raza’s first ball for four but off his second got a reverse sweep all wrong and popped up a simple catch to Seifert. With five overs left, Drakes and Ramdin were staring at a required run rate of 18.

That figure jumped above 20 as Pierre’s last over went for just seven, and Ramdin could only find midwicket when he tried to take on Raza. Raza did the work himself to pick up his third, taking a good diving caught-and-bowled as Drakes toe-ended an attempted straight hit. After 17, Raza had figures of 3/8 and the Patriots needed 27 an over.

Hosein picked up a deserved wicket late in his spell, getting Joseph stumped with one flung wide of off-stump. He celebrated by running to hug his childhood friend Khary Pierre. Imran found himself with three slips for company as Hosein finished off the 18th over, and the game was now officially unwinnable.

Emrit added to the Hero Maximum charity fund off Phillip’s 20th, but the Patriots didn't come close to winning this one, and the Knight Riders had made it eight wins from eight without breaking a sweat.

Summary: (Trinbago Knight Riders 174/4 (Simmons 96, DM Bravo 36; Drakes 2/35, Cottrell 1/32) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 115/7 (Lynn 34, da Silva 29; Raza 3/15, Tambe 1/12, Hosein 1/15, DJ Bravo 1/17) by 59 runs)

Upcoming Fixture: Wednesday 2 September - Match 24: St Lucia Zouks v Guyana Amazon Warriors (5:30 pm),  4:30 pm Jamaica at Brian Lara Cricket Academy

Rain briefly threatened to scupper the third and final match just as it had the second and Ireland will have wished for a greater downpour after being comprehensively outplayed at Warner Park in Basseterre.

The tourists collapsed from 50-1 to 138 all out following a 45-minute delay as Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo snared three wickets apiece.

Simmons ensured the Windies made light work of the chase, hitting five fours and 10 sixes in a blistering 40-ball innings that surpassed his previous best T20I score of 82.

Evin Lewis added 46 from 25 deliveries in an opening stand worth 133 to help dash Ireland's chances of escaping with a series victory.

Simi Singh claimed Lewis courtesy of a top edge before Simmons ended the contest two balls later, the 34-year-old launching another six at the end of the 11th over to force a drawn series.

After bowling out the Windward Islands Volcanoes for 227, Red Force appeared to be full control at 159-2 in the 30th over after Simmons made an entertaining 102 off 114 balls.

He hit seven fours and five sixes to take the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match award as Red Force scored 228-6 off 45.3 overs – to win by four wickets with 27 balls to spare.

Simmons reached the milestone of 4,000 List A runs during his innings but fell via the run-out route thanks to some excellent work from substitute Roland Cato. His dismissal triggered a slide which saw four Red Force wickets fall for 22 runs off 40 balls, to leave Red Force on 181-5 the 37th over.

Simmons shared an 81-run opening stand with Evin Lewis (37) and a 78-run second-wicket stand with Nicholas Pooran (17).  Captain Kieron Pollard then hit 31 off 35 balls with three huge sixes but fell close to the end when he was well caught by Cato off left-arm spinner Larry Edward (2-48).

“In the first game I didn’t get a score, so coming into this game I wanted to do something special for the team. It feels good to get a hundred, but I would have liked to see it home,” Simmons said.

“We are playing a good brand of cricket and we now have two wins in our two matches so we want to continue the winning ways."

All-rounder Kerron Cottoy had earlier top-scored with 72 from 75 balls while captain Sunil Ambris stroked 66 from 77 balls to help Volcanoes rally.

Off-spinner Jason Mohammed (3-50) and fast bowler Anderson Phillip (3-63) made inroads in the Volcanoes innings while left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein opened the bowling and ended with 2-25.

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)

It was Rovman Powell, though, who gave his team a chance while Simmons took them home.

Needing 61 from the last five overs, Northern Warriors, chasing 115 for victory, saw Powell smash 49 from 24 balls. His knock included five fours and two sixes. Together with Simmons, they took the score from 23 for 2 mid-way the third over to 99 for 2 from 8.5 overs.

However, when Powell was bowled off the inside edge from the last ball of Obed McCoy’s allotment, Simmons still had it all to do with the Warriors needing 16 from the last six balls.

The Trinidadian veteran duly obliged hitting two sixes from the second and fourth balls of Tom Helm's final to propel his team to victory.

Earlier Fabian Allen took 4 for 13 as Team Abu Dhabi fell away from 55 without loss after 2.5 overs to 114 for 7. Paul Stirling got TAD off to flyer smashing six sixes and three fours in his 13-ball knock. However, once he got out caught at mid-off from the bowling of Rayad Emrit, TAD struggled.

Gayle was out next ball for 7 caught at long-on by Allen from a Junaid Siddique delivery.

Allen then struck with the ball taking two wickets in each of his two overs as TAD slumped to 107 for 6 at the end of the ninth over.

Northern Warriors, a team that boasts five Caribbean players – Simmons, Powell, Allen, Pooran, and Emrit – will now face Delhi Bulls captained by Dwayne Bravo.

The West Indies on Friday named a 14-man squad that is expected to play three T20 Internationals in New Zealand later this year that included Andre Fletcher who was making a return to the squad after a two-year absence as well as Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo. However, it was noticeable that Russell, Lewis and Simmons were absent.

Chief selector Roger Harper explained during a press conference Friday morning that the three batsman gave different reasons why they opted out.

Simmons, he said, decided against travelling after discussions with his family. Lewis, he said, also discussed the issue with family but was also concerned about a injury that needed more time to heal.

Russell, who is currently playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, said he needed time to clear his head after being in quarantine situations in the Caribbean Premier League and IPL competitions.

“Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell are two very experienced T20 players who performed very well on the last tour of Sri Lanka and their absence will surely be noted,” Harper said in a release from CWI.

However, the respective decisions to decline the invitations to tour will not factor in the selection process to future teams, CWI said.

In the end, it proved to be a reversed performance of sorts for Simmons, when considering the Knight Riders' previous Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign.  Last season, he started the competition well but went missing in the later rounds.  His 1 run against the Tridents, in the semi-finals, perhaps set the stage for the team's loss.

One season later, after a poor start to the competition, Simmons is free to bellow his redemption song.  His 54 from 44 in the semi-final and 84 from 49 in the final game, played a big role in the Knight Riders not only lifting the title but achieving a historic unbeaten season.

“Last year I did well in the prelims and when it came to the semi-finals, I didn’t get a score and we ended up losing the game.  So, I took the responsibility upon myself to make sure we got it over the line this time," Simmons said following the game.

“I did not start the tournament well, but I ended well, and I am happy with my performance,” he added.

Simmons finished the tournament as the top runs getter with a total of 356.

Simmons was speaking on Sunday following the dismal performance of the defending champions while losing to England by six wickets in Dubai. The West Indies were bowled out for 55 in just 14.2 overs, a target achieved by England in 8.2 over albeit for the loss of four wickets.

During the match, several West Indies batsmen got out trying to clear the boundary, most notably opening bat Lendl Simmons, who swiped Moeen Ali and was caught on the midwicket boundary mirroring his dismissal to Mohammed Nabi in the team’s final warm-up game against Afghanistan.

Simmons conceded that this was a concern for the team.

“There is a concern from yesterday (Saturday) because the game awareness and situational awareness was not at its best. From that point of view, definitely and it is something that is being addressed, not just with him (Lendl) but with all the players as to how we assess the situation that we are in because it can be assessed inside; those in the middle must assess the situation and play accordingly.”

Notwithstanding those concerns, Simmons said the team will continue to play its natural game.

“Well, the style in which we play our cricket has always been in the style in which we play our cricket, but we got to assess the situation at the time and play according to the situation. We will continue to be in our aggressive state but our shot selection and assessment of the situation must be a lot better.”