T20S

Speaking after the Zouks produced an all-round performance to earn a 10-run win over the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Sammy said he was proud of every aspect of the team’s play.

“With Jimbo having to come off because he was having some problems with his vision and to see Mark Deyal, the way he is playing. I’ve told him I played 12 years of international cricket and I don’t have half the talent he has so what’s stopping him,” said Sammy.

“But today Fletcher took the innings deep and this morning I spoke about the impact of my Afghan players and you see Mohammad Nabi again, after losing some quick wickets he was back and the way he controlled that last few overs,” he said.

But that was with the bat, with the ball, Sammy could not ask much more than he was given.

“[Nabi] with the ball, Roston Chase, asking him to bowl in the powerplay, my spinners have responded really really well,” said Sammy.

“When you look at our squad from early I said, we don’t have the superstar guys but from the camp, from the two days that we had at practice, what I saw, with the skill level with the bowlers, we have guys that can turn the ball away from the bat, guys that can bring it in to the bat for both left and right, so we have a good mix,” said Sammy.

According to the former West Indies captain, the superstars may not matter if everybody does their job in the way his Zouks have been.

“At the end of the day, it boils down to execution and I thought today, we executed really really well against them.”

Patriots captain Rayad Emrit chose to bowl, but while Sheldon Cottrell and Sohail Tanvir started tightly to Rakheem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher was able to pick up boundaries off both. Cornwall retired ill in the third over, and while Mark Deyal started with a Hero Maximum first ball, he should have fallen off his third when Ben Dunk missed a slip catch off Jon-Russ Jaggesar. Jaggesar’s frustration grew when Kieran Powell stepped on the rope while trying to complete a juggling catch.

The Zouks were quick to take advantage, Fletcher taking a liking to Tanvir and Deyal, peppering the leg-side off Jaggesar to power the Zouks to 64/0 off the Powerplay. The onslaught continued as the field went back, with Deyal launching his third Hero Maximum to bring up the 50 stand off just 27 balls.

Ish Sodhi took a good juggling catch at mid-off to dismiss Deyal off Emrit’s first ball. The Patriots captain foxed Najibullah Zadran with an array of slower balls, but the Afghan powered a pair of reverse sweeps off Sodhi and the legspinner was frustrated when Fletcher was dropped again on 38. Another Najibullah four saw the Zouks motor to 91/1 at halfway.

Jaggesar finally got his man when Fletcher picked out deep midwicket. With the Zouks so well set, it was a surprise to see the anchorman Roston Chase come into bat, and he fell to a spitting Jaggesar carrom ball before he could make much of an impression. Tanvir picked up Najibullah and Sammy caught behind in the same over, and at 123/5 in the 15th the Zouks were in danger of wasting a good platform.

Cornwall was well enough to return but hit only one boundary before he was freakishly run out. A Nabi leading edge spun back onto the bowlers’ stumps with Cornwall backing up looking for a run, and Emrit had ample time to complete the run-out.

Nabi showed his class with two huge Hero Maximums off Tanvir, one of which went literally out of the ground. Another flurry off the 20th took the Zouks to an imposing 172-6 despite their mid-innings stutter.

Nabi was back in the action immediately, bowling an excellent first over to Chris Lynn and Evin Lewis. Saad bin Zafar was not so accurate - when he dropped short Lynn pulled, and when he overpitched Lewis drove and paddle-swept - but a stunned Lynn had to depart when Najibullah sprung magnificently to take the catch of the tournament so far.

Lewis toyed with Scott Kuggeleijn, dispatching a Hero Maximum over square leg and paddling the follow-up slower ball very fine for four. But it was the New Zealander who was waiting at long-on when the recalled Joshua Da Silva toe-ended a straight hit off Chase. Kesrick Williams, bowling a rare Powerplay over, mixed up good and bad and the Patriots ended the Powerplay at 52/2.

Chase continued to impress, the ominous Lewis edging a cut to the keeper off a quicker ball. With Obed McCoy also accurate, Sammy was able to ramp up the pressure on Denesh Ramdin and Ben Dunk, and despite Ramdin’s Hero Maximum last ball before the drinks break, the Patriots needed 9.5 an over off the last 10. Dunk succumbed to the pressure, missing a sweep and giving Chase a third wicket of a fantastic spell. Tight overs from Williams and Nabi pushed the required run rate up above 11, and Powell, Ramdin, Tanvir and Emrit all fell trying to slog Kuggeleijn.

The Patriots’ keeper deserves credit for a good lone hand, and Cottrell launched a few lusty blows to narrow the margin of defeat, but other than their mid-innings batting wobble the Zouks were in control throughout, and with their well-stocked spin attack could be a force later in the tournament if the pitches tire as expected. The Patriots meanwhile have work to do if they’re not to be cut adrift.

Gayle was one of several headliners to line up for Endeavour Hills with former Pakistan international Shoaib Malik and ex-Sri Lankan star Tillakaratne Dilshan.

The West Indies legend rolled back the years, batting the entire 20 overs on his way to an unbeaten 95 runs from 65 balls, with eight sixes to guide Endeavour Hills to a total of 4-167.

It was a continuation from the night before, as Gayle revealed he was out on the town in Melbourne on Saturday night with Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt.

However, the festivities will be short-lived as the 43-year-old revealed he will only be in Australia for two games.

“It’s good to be here,” he told Australian newspaper The Age.

“I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I’m just here for two games and then that’s it.”

Gayle and some of his teammates’ involvement in the T20 exhibitions for Endeavour Hills has been shrouded in controversy after Victorian Police announced they charged a 35-year-old with 18 alleged theft and deception offences in relation to $250,000 stolen from a company with ties to the event.

The Super Kings won the toss and posted 154-7 off their 20 overs.

Conway’s innings lasted 55 balls and included eight fours and a six. Conway’s countryman, Mitchell Santner, hit 27 in support. Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada each took a pair of wickets for MINY.

MI New York’s chase then failed to get going after a slow first powerplay where they only scored 32 in the first six overs.

The innings sauntered along before, eventually, they were restricted to 137-8 after 20 overs.

Shayan Jahangir top scored with 41 while Tim David hit 21 and Nicholas Pooran made 19.

Daniel Sams was excellent with the ball for Texas, picking up 2-15 in his four overs.

The Super Kings are now on top of the table with four points from three games.

The Vipers took first strike and piled up an impressive 219-4 from their 20 overs thanks to an excellent 59-ball 110 from man-of-the-match Alex Hales which included seven fours and six sixes.

Captain Colin Munro added 56 while Guyanese left hander Sherfane Rutherford contributed a rapid seven-ball 23 including two fours and two sixes.

Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara was the Knight Riders’ best bowler with 2-31 from his four overs.

Then, despite a fighting 57 off 29 balls from Andre Russell, the Knight Riders were reduced to a paltry 108 all out in just 15.1 overs.

Cottrell was well supported by Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and English medium pacer Benny Howell who took 2-21 and 2-6, respectively.

The Vipers now have three wins in as many games and are top of the table while, on the other hand, the Knight Riders are last with four losses from four matches.

The grievance appears to have been caused because local players from the TKR did not join the bio-secure bubble at the Hylton Hotel, continuing to train.

The first teams allowed to train were announced on Tuesday with the St Lucia Zouks and the Knight Riders getting the go ahead. According to a release from the CPL, local players had gone through the mandatory testing process and would this week enter the bubble.

“Everyone should have been part of the bubble from the first day to “guarantee” that the health and safety of all stakeholders is not “compromised”, read a social media post from Zouks skipper Daren Sammy.

"How can everybody else be in a bubble no access to training or practice games while others on the outside in a COVID infected area be training and playing practice games. Then allowed to join the bubble without self-isolation," read another from the Zouks skipper.

According to reports, defending champions, Barbados Tridents have also not taken kindly to the difference being shown to the local TKR players and asked why it was that all players from the franchise were not asked to enter the bubble and undergo the mandatory weeklong quarantine everybody else did.

But according to Michael Hall, operations director of the CPL, it was necessary to take precautions to ensure local players entering the bubble were not a threat to the environment’s bio-security.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave provided some insight as what this hybrid form of the competition could look like during an interview on Sportsnation Live on Nationwide Radio in Jamaica on Saturday.

“I think at this stage it looks like flying in the six regional teams to one country to host the tournament across two venues. We think realistically for us to put on the best tournament that we possibly can then we need at least eight weeks of preparation in order to make sure that the training pitches, the practice pitches, and the grounds are in the best possible condition so that we can sustain as many games as possible in a short period of time,” Grave said.

The CWI said he didn’t see where it would be possible to get crowds into the stadia but they would be working closely with the host board and the host government from the ministry of sport and ministry of health perspective to make sure that the players are safe and that the community and country are safe.

Grave said it was too early to say what the medical protocols would be but it is likely the matches will be played behind closed doors.

That said, he is not completely ruling out having people in the grounds.

“We know Caribbean cricket fans are desperate for entertainment, desperate to watch some high-class cricket, so if we can get crowds into the stadiums, working with the government and going through the current protocols to so, then absolutely we would try and get crowds there.”

He said that over the next few weeks CWI would be working with their international fixture list committee and the board of directors to put forward their recommendations about where to host the Super50 and after that, hopefully host Sri Lanka for three T20s, three ODIs and two Test matches.

The game is being put on by former West indies fast bowler Daren Powell, who is the founder of RESI Legends and will also be playing in the game.

The day’s festivities will kick off at 9:00 am with a match between the St. Elizabeth All Stars and the Manchester All Stars before Lara’s XI and Gayle’s XI square off in the marquee event.

Gayle and Lara will be joined by the likes of Jerome Taylor, Krishmar Santokie, Wavell Hinds, Robert Haynes, Nehemiah Perry, Nikita Miller and Delroy Morgan.

Powell, speaking SportsMax.TV, said that the participation of international players like Sulieman Benn, Daren Ganga, Dave Mohammed, Dwayne Smith, Kirk Edwards, Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine was not yet confirmed as he is still seeking sponsorship from airlines to fly them to Jamaica for the event.

Powell, who represented the West Indies in 37 Tests, 55 ODIs and five T20Is from 2002-2009, wants the match to “reignite cricket in the parish of St. Elizabeth,” before emphasizing that the focus of the event is cricket, not charity.

“It’s a cricket event, a legends cricket event that we are putting on. Normally in my life whatever I do, from when I was playing for the West Indies, I contribute to my past school and assist people who need it. In this situation, I’m playing cricket to bring back life to me and life to St. Elizabeth and, in so doing, if there is support from the public and corporate Jamaica, if there so be a case that I can contribute to any entity, I will. My main focus is about cricket.”

He also spoke extensively about the presence of Brian Lara, calling it an opportunity for the development of the parish in more areas than just cricket.

“I thought I was putting on a Cricket match but ever since Brian Lara’s name has been mentioned in it, I have seen whereas it is more than just cricket. It’s about sports tourism also. It’s a good thing for the hoteliers and workers in the parish. It is something that can bear fruit and every entity in Jamaica can benefit from; tourism, sports and locals.”

“Once this game can go off successfully, hopefully we’ll have another one a year from now.”

All had looked lost after Mujeeb ur Rahman and Sandeep Lamichhane had worked their magic, but Mayers smashed 29 off a Carlos Brathwaite over that proved absolutely pivotal.

Mujeeb did for both Tridents openers - an off-break turned big to trap Shai Hope LBW and a carrom ball to Johnson Charles took the edge for Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell to take a good catch at slip.

Veerasammy Permaul, replacing Russell, started well until Kyle Mayers lofted him for six over extra cover. Mayers repeated the trick off Edwards and the Tridents reached the Powerplay at 37/2.

Holder lifted Permaul onto the rope at long-on, and Mayers took a liking to Powell in an over that went for 17. Brathwaite didn’t escape punishment as Mayers timed him over point, bringing up a 50 partnership off just 29 balls. Powell went to Lamichhane, whose googlies restricted Mayers and Holder to three off the 10th over.

At halfway, the Tridents were 79/2.

Twenty balls later, that was 90/6. Brathwaite bounced out Holder, Rashid Khan’s promotion lasted two balls as he sliced a Lamichhane leg-break to backward point, Mujeeb skidded a carrom ball onto Corey Anderson’s stumps and Lamichhane beat Ashley Nurse’s slog-sweep with a googly.

Mujeeb could have had Mayers had a close LBW shout been given or had Glenn Phillips held a catch, but with the Afghan and Nepalese combining for 5/30, little did we know how crucial that would prove.

Brathwaite disappeared to all parts as Mayers launched four Hero Maximums, and even good death bowling saw the Tridents end on a competitive looking total.

Santner started superbly, bowling Phillips as part of a wicket-maiden. Chadwick Walton flayed Holder for four and pulled him for a Hero Maximum, but the Tridents captain nicked him off with a Test match-style seaming beauty. Santner followed up with another fine over, and the Tallawahs were 13/2 after three.

Walsh Jr went for just three runs, all due to misfields including a dropped catch. Blackwood’s first boundary was a thick inside edge off Holder, and the captain’s extra bounce did for his opposite number Rovman Powell who gloved to the keeper.

At 22/3 off 5 overs, the Tallawahs were precariously placed, and that was before Rashid Khan came on for the last over of the Powerplay. The required run rate was now approaching nine an over.

Walsh Jr spilled a tough caught-and-bowled off Blackwood, but finally got his first wicket of Hero CPL 2020 as Asif holed out to long-off to plunge the Tallawahs into even deeper strife. The leg-spinner celebrated his first wicket of this CPL season with a huge roar of delight.

Ashley Nurse went for just five off two overs, and Walsh Jr beat Blackwood on both edges to leave the Tallawahs 36/4 needing 11 an over off the last 10 with three overs of Rashid still to face. In a familiar tale, the Tallawahs had failed to score off 44 of the first 60 balls.

Things seemed to be picking up after the break. Bonner pulled Walsh Jr for the first boundary in 37 balls, Blackwood joined with a Hero Maximum to put a slight dent in Walsh Jr’s figures, and the two scored off every ball of Rashid’s second over including a boundary.

But Santner’s return did the trick. Blackwood hit one big Hero Maximum over the sightscreen, but a slower ball deceived him into holing out to long-on. Rashid capped a horrible night for Brathwaite, pinning him LBW with a fast googly, and after a mini-recovery the Tallawahs were 68/6 off 14 and needed 13.5 an over.

Santner finished a brilliant spell - 20 off his 24 balls were dot balls and a Hero Maximum was his only boundary conceded. Bonner hammered Raymon Reifer for a Hero Maximum, but Permaul took nine balls to get off the mark, and with the Tallawahs needing 17.25 an over, Bonner took it upon himself to farm the strike.

Rashid ended the Tallawahs’ last faint hope, as Bonner tried to pull an unpullable ball and Anderson held the top-edge. Mujeeb deposited his countryman for a pair of Hero Maximums, but even so the required run rate at the end of the over was higher than when it started.

Mujeeb continued his fun with a reverse hook off Nyeem Young, but the youngster made a contribution taking an excellent catch diving forward at deep point to give Reifer the wicket of the scratchy Permaul.

Reifer made it two when Mujeeb tried to reverse sweep a delivery on middle stump, and in the end the only thing missing for the Tridents was a wicket for Young. Russell or no Russell, the Tallawahs batters need to find some answers fast.

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.

While he ended up with relatively pedestrian figures of 1-34 off his four overs to help Surrey defend a mammoth 237, his dismissal of South African Colin Ingram for 11 was extremely significant.

With that dismissal, the 35-year-old Trinidadian became only the third man in history to reach 500 wickets in T20s, joining Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who has 555 and fellow Trinidadian, Dwayne Bravo, who leads the way by a mile with 615.

Narine made his T20 debut all the way back in 2011 when he represented Trinidad & Tobago against Hampshire in the Caribbean T20 at the Kensington Oval and has since gone on to represent a number of franchises in leagues across the globe, most notably helping the Kolkata Knight Riders to a pair of IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, taking over 20 wickets in each season.

In Surrey’s next game, which they also won, Narine was back to his best with figures of 3-12 in 2.5 overs.

In total, Narine has taken 503 wickets in 461 matches at an average of 21.01 including 12 four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.

For the West Indies, Narine has taken 52 wickets in 51 matches at 21.25. His last T20 for the West Indies came against India at Providence in 2019.

Ali Khan and Jayden Seales started superbly after Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard put the Tallawahs in. Walton spliced Ali Khan to square leg and Kirton was trapped in front by Seales.

Glenn Phillips and Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell both hit their first ball for Hero Maximums, but a flamboyant DJ Bravo catch gave Ali Khan the wicket of Powell. Asif Ali coming to the crease in the third over could not have been part of the Tallawahs’ Plan A.

A mini-recovery ensued as Phillips took Seales for a pair of boundaries, and Asif welcomed Khary Pierre to Hero CPL 2020 with an enormous straight-six. Narine bamboozled Asif five balls straight but found himself hammered into the stands for a magnificent Powerplay-closing Hero Maximum.

Narine had his revenge, bowling Asif with a deceptive quicker ball. The Tallawahs crawled to 63/4 at halfway, and it got worse when a Fawad googly completely deceived Brathwaite. The leg-spinner’s first two overs tonight contained a remarkable 11 dot balls.

Phillips broke the spell off Fawad to come out of his post-Powerplay slump and reach 50 off 34 balls. The Tallawahs were careful to see off Narine, but at 90/5 with six overs to come, the acceleration had to come at some point, and once Phillips fell trying to whip Seales over deep square leg the onus was all on Russell.

Ali Khan delivered a near-perfect over, closing by nearly holding a spectacular return catch off a ferocious drive from Ramaal Lewis, who came into the Tallawahs XI for Veerasammy Permaul. In truth the American was lucky to escape with his teeth intact.

Thanks to a fine diving catch at mid-off from Colin Munro, a restless Russell fell having faced a good number of deliveries for under a run a ball for the second game running. Remarkably, he is yet hit a six in this year’s Hero CPL.

The final over saw Fidel Edwards, into the team for Oshane Thomas for his first Hero CPL game since 2015, run out as he sacrificed himself to save Lewis, but the all-rounder couldn’t manage a boundary. Ali Khan and Dwayne Bravo’s death bowling was outstanding, and the Tallawahs total felt sub-par.

Edwards and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman troubled the top order, with Lendl Simmons losing his shape off the paceman and gifting a catch to mid-off. After 4 overs the Tallawahs had Trinbago nerves jangling, but Narine’s eyes lit up when inexperienced off-spinner Lewis came into the attack.

Fourteen runs came off the over.

Munro and Narine both drove Russell for four through cover, and 38/1 off the Powerplay meant things were much calmer in the Knight Riders dugout.

Narine has built his reputation as a hitter of spin, but he was severe on the pace of Russell, with the highlight an impudent inside-out four on one leg. He brought up a 35-ball 50 off the last ball of the 10th over, at which point the Knight Riders needed just 71 off 60 with nine wickets in hand.

Munro’s was a curious innings - he managed just 16 off his first 24 balls, but 14 of them were boundaries, and it wasn’t until the 17th over that he breached a run a ball. This all-or-nothing approach was a feature of the chase, and the Knight Riders will want to address their high dot-ball percentage as they move through the tournament.

Mujeeb was excellent, and deserves huge credit for holding a skied return catch off Darren Bravo despite keeper Phillips nearly taking him out with a full-length dive. But Narine’s belligerence and Munro’s anchor role meant that, although the Tallawahs will rue a few missed opportunities, the Knight Riders always had the chase firmly under control.

The sense of ease was underlined when Pollard had time to block out an Edwards over in an ultimately vain attempt to steer Munro to 50, and the Knight Riders go into the weekend sitting pretty atop the standings.

In large part, that failure, scoring 60 off the last four overs, was down to the bowling of Naveen-ul-Haq, who bowled the penultimate over to Russell.

At the start of the 19^th over, the Tallawahs were 87-7, needing a further 32 runs from the 12 deliveries to come.

The first delivery of Naveen’s over was muscled over deep midwicket for Russell’s fourth six of the innings. The second delivery from Naveen was full outside off stump and a thick outside edge saw it rush to the third man boundary. Russell had taken 10 runs off the first two deliveries, having already taken 17 from Imran Tahir the over before that and 11 from Keemo Paul’s 17^th over.

But Naveen, apparently, is made of sterner stuff and produced four dot balls to leave the Tallawahs with 22 to get from six and Russell at the non-striker’s end.

“It was difficult to bat on that pitch. The first ball I saw was sticking and turning a lot, so I knew that if we put up 120 or thereabouts, it’s gonna be a tough chase for them,” said Naveen of the 118-run total the Warriors had just defended, the lowest in CPL history.

Speaking with CPL’s Alex Jordan, Naveen went on to explain that he was fearful of bowling that 19^th over to a man known to be among the most destructive batsmen in the world.

Naveen would end with figures of 1-22 from his four overs.

“He is quite an explosive player and everybody knows this. I am cherishing this moment. It was quite lucky that I got that over. I was happy to come at the main stage and do well for my team. I got the chance and I did well,” he said.  

Players, staff and officials, were required to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago two weeks ahead of the CPL’s August 18 start.

A number of chartered flights were arranged for the trips, including one from Jamaica to Barbados on Monday. Allen, who was to have competed for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, was to have been on that flight but missed it courtesy of a mix-up in flight times as per his agent.

"Unfortunately there was some confusion with his understanding of the flight details and he missed the flight," said Allen's agent in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.

"We explored all possibilities, but due to the pandemic and travel restrictions in Trinidad, the charter flight on Monday was the only way he could enter the country."

Allen has been a mainstay in the Patriots team since 2017.

After bowling out the Warriors in 19.1 overs, the Tallawahs were pegged back by the combination of brilliant bowling from the Warriors and their own failure to adjust to a pitch where the ball was sticking.

“We knew the wicket was quite tough to bat on. We felt we were 10-15 short but we have a special bowling line-up,” said Warriors captain Chris Green.

That 10-15 runs short never mattered as an all-round bowling performance where Green ended with 2-10 from three overs, Imran Tahir, 1-26, Ashmead Nedd, 1-10, Naveen-ul-Haq, 1-22, Keemo Paul, 1-33, and Chandrapaul Hemraj, 1-3 from one over, were enough to restrict the Tallawahs to 107-7.

“I am very, very disappointed but that's the nature of the game,” said Powell.

“I think both teams batted poorly, and we really need to improve our batting,” he said.

 “The positive was Russell coming to the party.”

Though disappointed, Powell was pleased to see the work of his spinners, saying he was impressed.

“Impressed with Mujeeb [Ur Rahmann] and Sandeep [Lamichhane],” he said. The two ended with figures of 3-18 and 2-8 respectively.

Organisers of the CPL had last month negotiated with the T&T government to host the CPL, usually occurring throughout six countries, solely in the twin-island republic.

The schedule and venues for the CPL have since been released, with the T&T Prime Minister promising a bubble to protect the citizens of T&T.

“Everything that will go on around the CPL will go on in a bubble that does not interact with the national population,” he said.

According to Rowley, all visitors will be screened for COVID-19 before coming to T&T and once they do, they would be subject to all protocols of entry. Once in the country, those visitors are confined to the Hilton Hotel “and that becomes a bubble for them.”

Matches will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba and at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair.

Those venues form part of the bubble with Rowley saying, "Then (the players) will go to a venue to play the game where they will not interact with the population. So, therefore, the CPL is a bubble that has nothing to do with what goes on with the population in the country."

The CPL is scheduled for August 18-September 10.

The Unicorns won the toss in the winner-take-all encounter and decided to bat first.

Matthew Wade led the way with 49 while Chaitanya Bishnoi made 35 as the Unicorns posted 171-8 off their 20 overs.

Pacer Gerald Coetzee took 4-31 off his four overs for the Super Kings.

Texas then reached 172-7 with five balls to spare.

Milind Kumar set the foundation for the successful chase with a 42-ball 52 before Daniel Sams hit a whirlwind 18-ball 42 including two fours and four sixes to help seal qualification to the playoffs.

Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan each took a pair of wickets for the Unicorns.

The Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom have all confirmed their spots in the playoffs.

The final spot will be determined on Tuesday when the Orcas face MI New York. MI New York and San Francisco both have four points with New York ahead on net run rate. MI New York would seal their spot in the playoffs with a win or by avoiding a heavy defeat. If they lose by at least 130 runs, they would finish fifth and the Unicorns would advance.