St Lucia Zouks

On Thursday, Nabi helped the St Lucia Zouks earn their first points of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) after a 7-wicket Duckworth Lewis victory over defending champions Barbados Tridents earlier today.

Nabi first bagged 1-19 from four overs before slamming 15 off six deliveries to earn the man-of-the-match title in a significantly rain-affected game.

After restricting the Tridents to 131-7 from 18.1 overs, the Zouks benefitted from a long rain delay and only needed 47 from five overs, inclusive of two power plays.

Nabi helped the run chase along with some smart running, a big six and a smashing four.

“I don’t like interviews but because we won the game and I performed for my team, this one I like,” said Nabi during an interview with the CPL’s Alex Jordan.

Speaking about his cameo, Nabi said players like himself like having a short burst because it represents freedom to just go hard. He was also delighted to be up against teammate, Rashid Khan.

“We play for the same team most of the time, on national duties and we play on the same IPL team, so I know how Rashid will bowl to me. In the end he got me out as well though,” he said.

But when the Zouks bowled, Nabi said there was improvement after the close defeat they had against the Jamaica Tallawahs.

“This game we bowled brilliantly. It is a good start to the tournament and let’s see for our upcoming matches,” said Nabi.

The 36-year-old successfully captained the regional team to two T20 World Cup titles in the 2012 and 2016 tournaments.  The player has, however, not represented the regional team since a Pakistan versus World-XI match in 2017.  On that occasion, several players opted not to take part in the tournament.

After criticism of the then West Indies Cricket Board in 2016, following the end of the tournament, Sammy was dropped from the team as well as relieved of the captaincy.

“The main focus is to do well for the Zouks, and that will raise eyebrows in terms of West Indies selection,” Sammy told members of the media.

“I am in a very good place mentally. I am not under any pressure to perform and keep my spot, so I am just here to elevate the youngsters, and I think I am closer to the end,” he added.

Sammy will represent the St Lucia Zouks at this season's Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament, as the team looks to claim a maiden title. T20 star Chris Gayle had been expected to boost those hopes after signing for the Zouks earlier this year, but later opted out of the tournament.

Sammy has just finished a coaching stint in Pakistan and he will be back in his playing shirt this season. He will be captaining his home franchise once again! He has been part of the St. Lucia Zouks franchise since the inception of CPL in 2013. 

I can’t wait to work closely with Daren and for the island of St. Lucia,” said Zouks coach Andy Flower. “I worked with Daren five years ago when he captained the Peshawar team in the Pakistan Super League and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I know how passionate he is about his island and it's cricket and we will do everything within our power to bring fun, entertainment, and success to St. Lucia.”

Sammy is excited to be retained by the Zouks and to be captaining this year.

“The franchise is dear to my heart and this year I am honoured to lead the franchise one more time. Playing at home with passionate fans and the calibre of players I anticipate will be retained, I expect to bring silverware to St. Lucia. St. Lucia Zouks is well on its way in securing its team of players and looks forward to a successful year of cricket in St. Lucia,” said the former West Indies skipper.

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 captain and his power hitter are among eight Caribbean players that the Zouks have retained for the season.

Exciting opener Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Wiliams, pace bowler Obed McKoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kavem Hodge and emerging player Kimani Melius, who captained the West Indies U19 team to the ICC U19 World Cup.

Sammy spoke highly of the all-time leading run-scorer in the T20 format and the other players retained by the franchise.

“I don’t have to tell you about Chris Gayle. He is the most successful T20 batsman in the world and I'm happy to be playing with him. I think he will be focused and motivated for the season,” Sammy said.

“Andre Fletcher has been with us since the inception of the league. He carries the true spirit of St Lucia Zouks, and he is a great entertainer on the field.”

He was also pleased that Williams and Cornwall would remain with the franchise for another season.

“Kesrick Williams is one of the top T20 bowlers over the last few years in International cricket. Rahkeem Cornwall really bosses the power-play overs and him partnering up with Chris Gayle is going to be something exciting to watch.

“I'm excited about Kimani Melius because he is from St Lucia. He is one of the hardest working youngsters I've ever seen. With the experience of Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher, he could really benefit from this CPL exposure.

“Obed McCoy is a talented left-arm fast bowler out of St. Vincent. He is a very skilful bowler, can't wait to see him play a full season for the St Lucia Zouks.

Kavem Hodge is another talented all-rounder we have. He works really hard on his game; he had a pretty good first-class season as well.”

Meanwhile, new coach Andy Flower said he is eager to start working with both Gayle and Sammy.

“I’m really looking forward to having two Caribbean legends in our dressing room; Daren Sammy for his outstanding leadership and Chris Gayle for his experience and explosive stroke play,” Flower said. “They will be central to our chances of doing well in the tournament. Kesrick Williams and Obed McCoy are going to be the mainstays of our seam attack, both operating in very different ways but both extremely effective in this form of the game.

“I am very excited that we have the youth and potential of the West Indies U19 World Cup captain Kimani Melius with us. A St Lucia native, it is brilliant to have him on board and looking forward to seeing how he progresses when he gets his chance.”

International retentions and signings will be announced later. 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.

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

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)

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

K.P.H. Dream Cricket Private Limited is based in India and are knowledgeable owners who have a track record of success on and off the field in major events. They will bring a huge amount of experience to the tournament and to the St Lucian team.

The Zouks have been part of the CPL since the league’s inception making the playoffs during the 2016 season. They play their home games at the Daren Sammy International Cricket Ground, a stadium named after the man who has captained them for six of their seven seasons. Last year the Zouks team featured Sammy, Fawad Ahmed, Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher, Colin de Grandhomme and Thisara Perera.

“We are excited at the opportunity to invest in one of the most exciting sporting tournaments in the world, and we have been impressed by the vibrancy of CPL over the last seven years,” said Mohit Burman of K.P.H. Dream Cricket Private Limited.

“We visualise taking the franchise to the next level and showcasing St Lucia in the best possible light over the coming years.”

Pete Russell, Chief Operating Officer of the Hero CPL, said they are buoyed by the development:

“We are hugely excited to welcome this ownership team to the CPL family and we are looking forward to seeing where they take the Zouks during the upcoming season and beyond,” Russell said.

“They bring with them a wealth of experience which is fantastic news for both the CPL and St Lucia as a whole. During the 2019 tournament, the CPL made a positive economic impact of US$13,670,260 in St Lucia and this new ownership group will be working hard to see this figure increase.”

Meanwhile, St Lucia’s Prime Minister, the Hon. Allen Chastanet has greeted the new owners with open arms.

“I welcome the new owners of the Saint Lucia Zouks and hope that their new energy and drive will inspire the team to excel,” the Prime Minister said.

“Saint Lucians continue to root for the Zouks and we are encouraged by the confidence that Mr Mohit Burman and his team have placed in the players and Saint Lucia. The Government of Saint Lucia looks forward to working closely with the new owners to create a team we can all be proud of.”

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

Batting first the Zouks post 158 for 7, a respectable score, but at 144 for 5 after 17.2 overs seemed set to score in the region of 170.  Under pressure from a miserly spin attack, from the Tallawahs, things started to unravel for the Zouks. After losing their set batsman Chase, they failed to hit a boundary from that point on. In the last 22 balls, they managed only 14 runs, and a total that seemed to be headed towards 175 fell well short.

Offspinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane played a starring role for the Tallawahs, their clever and un-predictable variations making it difficult for the Zouks to cut loose.  Lamicchane was the more economical of the pair, giving away 23 runs from his four overs, with Mujeeb conceding 25.

“I think the was pleased with the way the guys bowled,” Powell said, following the game.

In the last 10 they scored around 70, 80, and whenever you do that you in for a victory and I think that what set up the game for us a batting unit,” he added.

“We wanted to win a little more comfortable but there is plenty of room for improvement.”

The Knight Riders crushed the inconsistent Jamaica Tallawahs by nine wickets in Tuesday’s semi-final match to claim a spot in the final and a shot at their fourth Hero CPL title.

Asked at a pre-final press conference on Wednesday whether winning 11 of 11, brings pressure or confidence, the TKR captain was unequivocal.

“Confidence, there is always pressure. Before you play the first game there is pressure, throughout the tournament, there is pressure as well,” he said.

“At the end of it, I’ve played in finals and it’s just another game because you have nothing to lose.

Four other teams would have liked to be in the position both teams are in…so it’s to go out and play good consistent cricket and at the end of the day the result will speak for itself.”

He believes TKR holds an advantage over St Lucia Zouks in that its players have been there before.

“One good thing is that we have guys who would have played in finals before, so we would be able to settle nerves over the ones who these things are new to,” he said.

He credits a change of attitude for the success the team has had so far this season, making adjustments from lessons learned last season when they were eliminated by eventual champions Barbados Tridents.

“We look forward to it, (the finals). Last year we were pretty disappointed to lose in the semi-finals and we made some changes and decided to come with a different sort of mentality this year and it has shown on the cricket field so it’s just a matter to jump the last hurdle and hopefully be four-time champions.”

Hetmyer blasted an enterprising 56 from 35 balls in a low-scoring encounter as the Warriors eased past the St Lucia Zouks book their place in the competition’s semi-finals.  The win was the fifth but third in a row for the Guyana based franchise.

The team won two of its first three matches but then struggled to keep momentum after losing the next three games in a row.  Hetmyer, however, believes the team’s latest win shows full confidence is growing within the squad following its latest win.

“The guys are starting to work much harder than before and starting to believe in ourselves a little more each and every day.  From here on out its just us taking it one game at a time,” Hetmyer said.

Personally, his individual performance would also have been pleasing for Hetmyer who failed to get into double digits in the last three games with scores of 9 and 1.

“It’s coming back I thought I lost it a few years ago, but I’m working on it and trying to stay a little bit more focused on my game and how to start, build and finish and innings.”

The rugged Zouks have shown plenty of determination so far.  In battling their way to the CPL final, without an established superstar, few would disagree that they have defied the odds. 

Even that, however, might not be enough against the Knight Riders, who have been the league’s best team by a distance this season, winning 10 straight matches.  Sammy insists the underdogs will not be overawed.   

“It will all come down to execution.  It’s a big final they have an experienced team with guys who have played finals before, but the mental toughness of my team showed throughout the tournament,” Sammy said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“We don’t give up until it’s over and I know that can pull us through.  I know I will have a full team believing they can go out and play a full brand of cricket,” he added.

The 36-year-old Sammy, who captained the Caribbean T20 team to two World Cup titles, last appeared for the West Indies against a Pakistan XI in 2017.  Sammy’s tenure with the team seemed to have come to an end in acrimonious circumstances after he was removed as captain and dropped after publicly criticising the West Indies administration after they won the tournament in 2016.

Pollard, however, noted that as it stands all players are eligible for selection and Sammy is no exception.

“We have made clear to the (new Cricket West Indies) administration that everyone is available for selection in that pool. No one is an exception to the rule. Performances and fitness and everything we are looking for,” Pollard told members of the media.

The 33-year-old Pollard replaced Jason Holder as the ODI captain and Carlos Brathwaite in T20Is last September.  Sammy will look to make his mark in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League where he will represent the St Lucia Zouks.

The 24-year-old quick has been a part of the Patriots franchise since 2016.  Joseph did, however, struggle last seasons, claiming just three wickets from seven matches, at an expensive 9.29. In 2019, the pace bowler captured 9, the third most on the team, with an economy rate of 7.75.

Late last week, the Patriots announced that they had retained Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Joshua Da Silva, and Dominic Drakes.

Joseph is currently taking part in the English County Championships where he is currently representing Worcestershire.

This season’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which bowls off on August 28, will be held in its entirety on the island of St Kitts & Nevis.  This year could mark the return of fans, with fully vaccinated patrons expected to be allowed to attend a half capacity Warner Park venue.  The Patriots have never won the CPL but went to the final of the competition in 2017.

He likens the teams to two biblical characters.

“I see them as Goliath,” said Sammy while addressing the media during a pre-final press conference on Wednesday.

“They are the Goliath of the tournament, but like I said to my men, don’t forget that David defeated Goliath.

“That’s the confidence we have as a team. Everybody knows that from the time the tournament started we said whoever wins this tournament has to go through TKR. That was a given. If you want to win this tournament you have got to beat TKR, and that is what is left to do to win this cup.”

Sammy, who led the West Indies to two ICCT20 World Cups, said the team is confident and united in its vision regarding what is to unfold at the Brian Lara Stadium on Thursday morning.

“They (TKR) have played some exciting, dominant brand of cricket but we have that silent confidence in our team that we play as a unit,” he said.

“They play well as a unit by dominance but we play as a unit by pulling together and believing in ourselves. I think is a very good matchup for tomorrow, and hopefully in this COVID time, we will bring out the entertainment that will ease the stress of the Caribbean people.”

The Zouks got to the final in a dominant win over five-time finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors. The Zouks bowled the Warriors out for just 55, the second-lowest score in CPL history and then achieved their target without losing a wicket.

Sammy led the team to six wins and four losses during the preliminary round.

The rain-affected fixture the Tridents posted 131 for 7 in their turn at the crease, before the showers caused a delay in the game.  On the resumption, the Zouks posted 50 for 3 to win the match.  Unusually, however, in attacking the Tridents early on, Sammy used eight bowlers.

Mohammad Nabi was the star with the ball, his varying pace, and reading the batsmen's intentions, gave neither right- nor left-hander any room, and he got his arm ball to deviate like a leg-cutter.  Sammy bowled Nabi out early the rest of his off-spinners ripped through the Tridents’ middle order.

 With the death overs approaching he went to his third off-spinner, Roston Chase, who picked up Jonathan Carter and Kyle Mayers in consecutive balls.  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 Raymond Reifer’s outside edge.

“Today, the mix-up with the bowlers, everyone I called on, the spinners, in the middle, they responded so that’s a good sign for us going forward,” Sammy said following the game.

“I think we have a good all-round team, today I probably used eight or seven bowlers.  So, everybody is equipped for different situations.  If a team has a few left-handed we have a couple of spinners to turn the ball away from them and when the team has right-handers we have the left-armers and chinaman bowlers.  So, I’m really happy with the guys that we have.”

 An inspired St Lucia Zouks skittled perennial finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors for the second-lowest team total in Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history and blazed to victory in just 27 balls to complete one of the most dominant performances in T20 history. In doing so they booked their place against the Trinbago Knight Riders in Thursday’s final, the first in the St Lucia franchise’s history.

Zouks captain Daren Sammy put the Amazon Warriors in, but even he could not have seen this coming. Brandon King toe-ended to keeper Andre Fletcher and Shimron Hetmyer inexplicably left his first ball to let it crash into off-stump. Nicholas Pooran denied Scott Kuggeleijn a hat-trick, but only a single and a wide followed, and Mohammad Nabi followed up with a maiden to leave the Amazon Warriors 2 for 2 after two overs.
Pooran immediately counter-attacked, slashing Kuggeleijn over the slips then dismissively driving him down the ground for back-to-back fours, but he fell trying to loft Nabi down the ground thanks to a wonderful catch by Mark Deyal diving forward from long-off. Chandrapaul Hemraj and Ross Taylor cautiously played out the rest of the Powerplay, at which point the Amazon Warriors were 21 for 3.
Taylor, so often the rock around which recoveries are built, fell LBW essaying his favoured sweep off Roston Chase, who anticipated the stroke well and bowled accordingly. Deyal almost pulled off another amazing catch at long-off as Hemraj drove Zahir Khan aerially, but it just fell short, and a fifth straight over with only three runs off it passed, leaving the Amazon Warriors 27for 4 off eight overs.

The extent to which the tension was pressing on the Amazon Warriors was obvious. Hemraj got a friendly full toss from Chase but only pushed it for two, nearly holed out next ball, and then Keemo Paul did hole out with a swipe down the throat of Kesrick Williams at deep square leg. Hemraj finally hit the innings’ first Hero Maximum off its 56th ball, slamming Zahir over deep midwicket, but at halfway the Amazon Warriors had crawled to 42 for 5.

Chase’s first over after the chase was quiet, but the next was anything but. Amazon Warriors captain Chris Green smashed Javelle Glenn’s first ball for a Hero Maximum and seemed to have done so off his second ball but Nabi pulled off a brilliant balancing catch at the boundary’s edge.

With spin so dominant, Sammy went to Deyal who answered the call emphatically with two wickets in two balls - Hemraj inside-edged onto his stumps via his pad, and Romario Shepherd first ball pushed a simple catch back to the bowler. Again there was no hat-trick, but the Amazon Warriors innings was not long for this world.

Fletcher showed sharp glovework to stump Kevin Sinclair off Zahir, and even sharper moves in celebration and the Amazon Warriors’ ignominious innings ended next ball as Rakheem Cornwall plunged forward to take a sharp slip catch off Imran Tahir. All six Zouks bowlers had taken a wicket, and the innings had lasted just 13.4 overs.

Cornwall showed that a low target wasn’t going to temper his belligerent instincts, launching two Hero Maximums in Green’s first over, whipping Tahir for four through short fine leg and nearly breaking the stumps at the non-striker’s end with a straight drive. Deyal hit fours off each of his first two deliveries, and the Zouks were almost halfway to their target after two overs.

Naveen-ul-Haq was visibly furious with how the evening had gone for his team, bowling a bouncer that sailed even over the towering Cornwall for five wides. Cornwall continued his merry mayhem by walloping Naveen through long-on for four, and Deyal picked up a Hero Maximum for himself with a gleeful mow over midwicket. Cornwall blasted Tahir over long-on for his third Hero Maximum, Deyal closed the fourth over with his third four, and captain Green went down with his ship by bringing himself on for the fifth with just three runs to win.

St Lucia Zouks 56/0 (Cornwall 32*, Deyal 19*) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 55 all out (Hemraj 25; Deyal 2/2, Zahir 2/12, Kuggeleijn 2/12, Chase 2/15, Nabi 1/6, Glenn 1/8) by 10 wickets

The Zouks, first-time finalists posted a competitive score of 154 off 19.1 overs, thanks to Andre Fletcher’s top score of 39 and scores of 29 from Mark Deyal, 24 from Roston Chase, and 24 from Najibullah Zadran.

However, the total was not nearly enough as TKR smashed their way to victory with 11 balls to spare.

Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo posted an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 138 to lead their side to their fourth CPL title.

Sammy, in his post-match comments, lamented that the Zouks did not get more runs after being in a strong position of 77 for 2 in the ninth over of their innings.

“We thought we were about 15-20 runs short from the start we had. Plus, we didn't complete our batting innings and when you play against a side like TKR you have to make sure you at least make full use of your overs. But we still felt we had enough when we put them under pressure in the first six overs,” he said.

“But these guys, Bravo and Simmons, have played so much together; they absorbed the pressure and put it back on us.”

Despite the outcome, Sammy said the Zouks fought bravely and put in a solid shift against the now four-time champions.

“I think we really pushed TKR in all three games we played against them in the tournament and I'm really proud of that,” he said.

“The message from the last few days is we never quit. The whole nation was behind us. We're very disappointed but we have shown that if we play a brand of cricket, we'll get results. I think we've put our hands up this tournament.”

The former West Indies captain said, however, that there were other positives to take from the final.

“Of course when you lose a final you think about things you could have done differently. Maybe I should have been more sure about the decision I wanted to take towards the end. But we've been resilient, we showed commitment and we played a brand of cricket that shows you don't need superstars. For eight years we have been trying to get to the final and we got here,” he said.

“Congratulations to Kieron Pollard and his team and I really want to thank CPL to have cricket in this time. We created an opportunity in the Caribbean for people to smile. And thanks to my team for the way they have turned up.”