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• St Lucia Kings secure spot in 2024 CPL final after victory over Guyana Amazon Warriors in rain-shortened encounter

  Saint Lucia Kings booked their place in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Final with a 15-run victory over reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in a weather curtailed match at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• CPL addresses controversy surrounding power outage during eliminator match between Trinbago Knight Riders and Barbados Royals

  The 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has released a detailed statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding the Eliminator match between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Barbados Royals, following widespread concerns that the rules may have been breached during the game. A power outage during the match, played at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence, led to questions regarding the timing and conditions under which the game resumed, with many pointing to a possible violation of CPL rules.

  The controversy centers on a significant delay caused by the loss of power to three floodlight towers at 20:58, after 19.1 overs of the Knight Riders' innings had been completed. Two of the towers were restored within 30 minutes, but match umpires Deighton Butler and Nigel Duguid deemed the lighting conditions unsafe for play to continue.

  Despite this, both teams were given the option to resume play under the reduced lighting. While the Barbados Royals were willing to continue, the Trinbago Knight Riders opted not to proceed due to safety concerns, a decision supported by the match officials.

  Initially, a cut-off time of 22:52 was communicated for the start of the second innings, with the requirement that at least five overs must be bowled for the match to constitute an official result. However, this deadline was later revised to 23:01 to accommodate the interval between innings, which had not been factored into the original cut-off time.

  At 22:51, power was fully restored to the third floodlight tower, and following an additional allowance for the lights to reach maximum brightness, match officials decided to resume the game at 23:01. This led to a five-over chase for the Barbados Royals, who were set a target of 60 runs based on the ICC-approved Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, which is the universally accepted approach for calculating revised targets in rain or other interruptions.

  The target, considered by some to be particularly high, sparked further debate, especially given that the Royals were allowed two powerplay overs with fielding restrictions, which many argued gave them an unfair advantage.

  CWI Senior Match Referee Reon King, who was overseeing the match, addressed the concerns, stating: “The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League playing conditions allow for one hour of extra time to be added to a game before overs are lost, and a failure of floodlights is treated in exactly the same way as an interruption for rain. The priority for the match officials team is always for the safety of players, but they also work to try and see if the outcome of a game, one way or another, can be achieved on the field of play. This was the focus applied during the Eliminator match.”

  Despite these clarifications, questions remain regarding the decision to extend the cut-off time and the overall fairness of the playing conditions, particularly with such a high run-rate requirement for the five overs. Some have pointed to CPL T20 rules that state that the match should not have resumed after the one-hour interruption mark, which would have been 10:52 pm, yet the game was restarted at 11:01 pm.

  The Barbados Royals went on to chase the target, raising further concerns among fans and pundits that the rules were stretched to ensure a result, casting a shadow over the conclusion of the match.

  While the CPL has emphasized that all protocols were followed, the incident has raised critical discussions about transparency and fairness in managing extraordinary match situations. As the league continues to grow in popularity, the CPL's handling of such incidents will likely remain under scrutiny from the teams and fans alike.

   

   

   

   

   

• Melodic journey: Windies all-rounder Dottin opens up about time away from cricket; targets success in upcoming T20 World Cup

  It is said that music soothes the soul in the midst of stress, heightened anxiety and depression. In other words, music can help during troubling times and West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin can attest to that.

  Dotting, who initially announced her retirement in 2022, reversed her decision ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, thanks to the music of the islands she represents.

  While away from the international stage, the Barbadian said the sounds of dancehall and reggae were a big part of her daily routine to reflect and unwind, as she focused on her mental health.

  In fact, it is that time away that Dottin believes prepared her for a return to the sport she fell in love with since her international debut in 2008.

  “I have missed playing international cricket and playing in the maroon. It is always a good feeling but sometimes as players, we might think that there is nothing wrong but deep down inside, something is happening. Many of us deal with things differently, some speak to psychologists, some take breaks, some listen to music and stuff," Dottin said.

  She continued: “That break did a lot in terms of mentally helping me to deal with things better. It was good to have a lot of time on my hands, but it did feel strange not being in the international set-up anymore but I used it to relax, have the muscles and brain relax and not think about cricket.

  

  “You are usually just on that rollercoaster, just thinking about cricket and batting and bowling and stuff like that. I tried to do different stuff that is not cricket focused, and that didn’t have stress. I just played games, listened to music, and just did the natural, normal stuff.”

  Dottin, 33, spent her time away from cricket in Canada, finding a peace there that aided her readiness to come back to international action.

  However, it was like she never left as she showed no signs of rustiness, scoring two half-centuries during a West Indies camp to secure selection for the global T20 showpiece, which gets underway on Thursday.

  It is the tournament where she made her name, scoring the first women’s T20I century in the 2010 edition before helping the Windies claim a stunning win in 2016.

  Now, it becomes the scene of her return, and it will see not just a different Dottin but a different West Indies.

  Still, she believes they will approach the tournament in the same way they did eight years ago.

  

  “I deal with things, especially mentally, on a different level. I try to create a stronger mentality where I control what I can control and what I can’t control. I forget about it and let God deal with it. It has made me a better person than I was before. There is a difference in the whole team too; the management staff and the players are all on the same level.

  “They are executing their plans and have created a different culture and actually think it is in a good mental space, their determination and hunger are really there. It will mean a lot to compete at a World Cup again, I will have some nerves coming back but it will feel really awesome,” Dottin shared.

  “In this World Cup, every team wants to win it, and we are the ones that are hungry and determined to do it. So, I think that once we stick to the basics and execute our plans, then there is no stopping us,” she ended.

  West Indies will open their account against South Africa on Friday.