The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has further strengthened its commitment to develop sports tourism across the Caribbean by employing Deanna Weekes as its new Tourism Partner Manager.

Weekes is an experienced tourism professional, who will work with CPL’s tourist board partners to create packages for travelling fans to visit all CPL host countries during the 2024 tournament.

According to figures from the UNWTO, sports tourism currently represents 10% of global tourist flow, with this expected to grow to 12% in 2024. With sports tourism being such a key economic driver for the industry, the Caribbean has much to gain by growing its share of this lucrative sector.

In 2024, CPL will be working even more closely with partners across the region to develop sports tourism and build valuable market share.

Pete Russell, Republic Bank CPL’s CEO said the organisation is tremendously excited to be able to begin offering fans travel packages to watch CPL teams in six wonderful locations across the Caribbean.

"We are blessed with hugely passionate fans and by employing a dedicated tourism manager who will work with hotels, airlines and tourist boards, we will be making it easier than ever for fans to travel to watch CPL cricket. With the ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean this year be a bumper year for sports tourism and CPL are looking forward to building on the momentum from that event," Russell said.

Weekes also expressed excitement at her appointment as Tourism Partner Manager.

“This is a really exciting opportunity to be involved in the biggest annual sporting event in the Caribbean. I am looking forward to working with all CPL’s tourism partners to build on the existing strong relationships to push CPL’s impact on the regional economies to another level," she noted.

Minister of Sport Olivia Grange has pushed back at critics, as she insists that the ministry did its best to give support to the Jamaica Tallawahs.

Her response in a statement on Thursday, follows widespread condemnation about the Government's lack of support for the Tallawahs, which inevitably resulted in owner Kris Persaud moving the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 franchise from Jamaica to Antigua and Barbuda.

Grange pointed out that the ministry provided special support to the Tallawahs at the level that funds would permit, as they forwarded cash, and paid for coordinated services across the Government of Jamaica to facilitate the franchise. She added that the ministry’s Sports Division and the Sports Development Foundation provided direct cash payments of J$13 million to Jamaica Tallawahs, including the purchase of tickets for matches, between 2015 and 2019. 

The minister said the government incurred significant direct costs as it worked to facilitate the Tallawahs, as she revealed that the Sports Development Foundation undertook the cost for the importation of goods and equipment needed for use during cricket matches.

Additionally, Grange argued that her ministry also undertook the cost for various licenses and fees including for television broadcasts, as well as, negotiated with the Jamaica Urban Transit Company to provide transport service to the Tallawahs, and with the Jamaica Tourist Board to market the team.

Grange stated that she also successfully participated in discussions with private sector companies about sponsorship for the team.

“We did our best to give support to the Tallawahs. The Tallawahs bear our country’s name, but are not a national team, and are therefore not covered in the yearly allocations to the Jamaica Cricket Association. However, we have sought to provide special support to the Tallawahs at the level that our funds will permit," the minister said in her statement.

Grange explained that it was difficult for the Government to go beyond its reach, citing that the Sports Development Foundation provided J$263 million in grants to all national sports federations in 2023.

“It is estimated that the Tallawahs require US$1 million each year—or more than J$150 million; but in order to give them more, we would have to cut funding to the more than 40 National Sports Federations, such as football, netball, track and field, who depend on government to run their programmes and have been requesting additional sums — which we are challenged to provide," she noted.

On another note, Grange attended the handing over ceremony of 90 cricket kits from the Government of India to the Jamaica Cricket Association.

The handing over ceremony took place at the High Commission of India and represented the remainder of the 100 cricket kits promised to Jamaica by the Indian President, His Excellency Ram Nath Kovind, during his visit to the island in 2022. The President had presented 10 kits during that initial visit.

Grange expressed gratitude to the High Commissioner, His Excellency Masakui Rungsung, and the Indian government for the gear “which will benefit young cricketers across the country.”

“This is one of the initiatives on which the High Commissioner and I have been working together as representatives of our respective governments in the interest of cricket. We are also discussing a major project, about which I believe we will soon be in a position to update our respective stakeholders about," Grange said.

Finally, she challenged the notion that the government was anti-cricket, pointing out that the Jamaica Cricket Association receives more funding each year from the Sports Development Foundation than all other national federations except football and track and field.

This defence also came, as the government was also criticisied for missing out on a bid to host games during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States later this year. Jamaica and West Indies captain Rovman Powell and all-rounder Andre Russell rencently expressed concern about the development and, by extension, the lack of international cricket being played locally.

The Jamaica Tallawahs are one of only two Caribbean Premier League (CPL) teams, alongside the Trinbago Knight Riders, with at least three titles to their name.

They won the inaugural tournament in 2013 before doing so again in 2016 and 2022.

In the next edition of the Caribbean’s biggest T20 showcase, the Tallawahs will not be present.

In their place will be a not-yet-named Antigua-based franchise. This won’t be Antigua’s first time hosting a franchise as, for the first two editions of the CPL, they were the home of the Antigua Hawksbills who won only three of their 16 games before eventually replaced by the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

After acquiring the team in 2017, Guyanese businessman Kris Persaud sold the Tallawahs back to the CPL ahead of the 2024 season because he said he was unable to sustain the team given a lack of support from the Jamaican Government.

Former Tallawahs CEO, Jeff Miller, shed more light on this lack of support from the Government.

“Over the years, we have failed to get any backing or support from the Jamaican Government. We have submitted proposals over the years requesting Government support and we have failed to reach some kind of agreement to say that the Government is supporting the franchise,” Miller told SportsMax.tv in an interview on Wednesday.

“The business plan of CPL entails that the Governments play a major role in financial support of the franchises and that’s what the other franchises are receiving from their respective countries and Jamaica has failed to participate in those environs,” he added.

In fact, Jamaica, one of the regions proudest cricketing nations, has not hosted a CPL game since September 2019 when the Tallawahs lost by 20 runs to the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

“Unfortunately, the franchise cannot be sustained in Jamaica. We cannot have a franchise where we don’t have home games,” Miller said.

“When you don’t have home games, you’re losing ticket sales, you’re losing merchandising, you’re losing concession, you’re losing sponsors. So, it’s not only the government support, you’re losing others as well because what business would want to support a franchise and they can’t get any benefits from the franchise playing within the country? For what we see, there were no games scheduled for 2024 either! It’s unsustainable,” Miller added.

This was due to the reluctance of the Government to pay the CPL hosting fee for the last four years. When asked why this was, Miller said he wasn’t privy to those discussions but always had promises from Jamaica’s Minister of Sport, the hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange regarding financial support.

“I’m not at privilege to those conversations. Those conversations would’ve been between them and CPL. I’m not sure what transpired but from the Tallawahs standpoint, we know that the minister was very graceful in her discussions with us but when it came to funding that’s when things would go off track. We were promised on numerous occasions that there would be something in the budget, nothing substantial but even a small gesture, we were not able to receive those funds,” he said.

Persaud and Miller will lead the new Antigua-based franchise which will be part of next year's competition, replacing the Tallawahs in the six-team Twenty20 tournament. The CPL is in search of new owners for the Jamaica-based franchise.

Miller said they have gotten commitments from the Antiguan Government and are looking forward to a fruitful partnership in the future.

“We have commitments from the Antiguan Government. We can’t disclose any information, per se, but it’s substantially more than what we were getting from Jamaica,” he said.

“We can’t tell the players; Jamaica’s not supporting us so we can’t pay your salary. All of those things have to be taken care of so we’re looking forward to greener pastures and Antigua seems to be in a better position to support and seems to want to have a CPL team back in Antigua. We think it’s a good fit for the franchise,” Miller added.

Announcements related to the branding of the new Antigua franchise will come next month, according to Miller,

“I’m engaging the fans in Antigua to participate in the naming of the franchise. That deadline should be around January 20^th or so. Then, we will announce the name as well as the colors and logo,” he said.

Jamaica Tallawahs, the 2013, 2016 and 2022 Caribbean Premier League champions, will not feature in the tournament's 2024 season and will be replaced by a new franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda.

Kris Persaud, a Guyanese businessman based in Florida, owned the Tallawahs franchise but has sold it back to the CPL.

"The owners were left with no option but to sell the Tallawahs back to CPL as they could not find a way to operate the team sustainably," a CPL spokesperson told ESPNCricinfo.

The three-time CPL champions will be replaced by a not yet named Antigua-based franchise in 2024.

The island hosted a franchise named Antigua Hawksbills in the first two CPL seasons, but they won only three matches and were replaced by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2015.

Daryll Matthew, the minister of sports in the Antigua and Barbuda Senate, revealed plans to host a franchise in 2024 earlier this week. "We can expect very easily and conservatively to generate approximately US$6 million per year by simply having a CPL franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda," Matthew said, as reported by the Antigua Observer.

The CPL intends to relaunch a Jamaica-based franchise in years to come.

"The CPL remains committed to having a team based in Jamaica, but this will be in 2025 at the earliest," a spokesperson said.

"In 2024, there will be six teams taking part in the CPL with franchises based in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago," they added.

The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Team of the Tournament has been announced. The team has been selected by the TV commentary panel; Ian Bishop, Daren Ganga, Samuel Badree, Carlos Brathwaite, Danny Morrison and Nikhil Uttamchandani. 

The team includes five members of the Guyana Amazon Warriors who won their first title on Sunday with a nine-wicket win over the Trinbago Knight Riders at Providence.

The five Amazon Warriors are Captain Imran Tahir, batsmen Shai Hope and Saim Ayub and all rounders Dwayne Pretorius and Romario Shepherd.

Tahir was instrumental in leading the Amazon Warriors to their maiden CPL title with 18 wickets in 13 matches, only finishing behind teammate Pretorius’ 20 wickets on the leading wicket-taker chart.

Hope and Ayub finished first and second in the leading run-scorer list with 481 and 478 runs, respectively.

The full team is as follows: 

Saim Ayub (Guyana Amazon Warriors) 

Brandon King (Jamaica Tallawahs) 

Shai Hope (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

Nicholas Pooran (Trinbago Knight Riders)

Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders)

Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tallawahs)

Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

Jason Holder (Barbados Royals)

Alzarri Joseph (Saint Lucia Kings) 

Dwaine Pretorius (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

Imran Tahir (Guyana Amazon Warriors)  

Pete Russell, Republic Bank CPL’s CEO, said: “It has been another fantastic year of CPL cricket, and we would like to thank the players, franchise staff, fans in the ground and viewers around the world for supporting our tournament again this year. We would like to offer our congratulations to the players who have been selected for the Team of the Tournament who have made this another memorable year.” 

The Guyana Amazon Warriors will contest the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final after a convincing 81 run victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs in Qualifier two.

The Tallawahs won the toss and opted to field first and they produced a disciplined bowling performance to ensure the Amazon Warriors were restricted to 182/6. Azam Khan produced the star knock in the Amazon Warriors innings, his 54 at the back-end propelling Guyana to a competitive total. 

The chase was always going to be a steep one for the Tallawahs and that equation became all the harder when they lost four wickets in the PowerPlay. 

It was a position they never recovered from eventually succumbing to 101 all out.

The Amazon Warriors made a solid start in their batting PowerPlay, reaching 49 for the loss of one wicket. It could have been two but for the faintest of inside edges that saved Shai Hope from being dismissed lbw.

However, Saim Ayub departed for 20 immediately following the end of the PowerPlay, his miscued shot only finding Alex Hales at long on. 

Hope and Shimron Hetmyer struggled to add some attacking impetus to the innings but just when it seemed they were ready to accelerate Hope was caught on the boundary for 40.

Hetmyer followed shortly afterwards for 31 – but Romario Shepherd and Azam Khan cashed in at the back end. Khan smashed a brutal 54 runs off 27 balls to give the Amazon Warriors momentum heading into the second half of the game.

If the Tallawahs were to chase the 183 to win, they needed a lightning start in the PowerPlay but they got the opposite of that. 

Four wickets fell in the first six overs and the procession continued after the fielding restrictions had been lifted. All of the Guyanese bowlers got in on the act to ensure the Tallawahs were never in the contest.

Imad Wasim added a respectable unbeaten 43 but no one stayed with him as the Tallawahs were eventually bowled out for 101.

The Amazon Warriors victory means they will now contest their sixth Republic Bank CPL final where they will aim to win their first ever title.

Jamaica Tallawahs earned a vital 59 run victory over the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to ensure they remained in contention for the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Playoff stage next week.    

The Tallawahs won the toss and chose to bat first, despite losing early wickets to the spin of Ashmead Nedd and George Linde, a 62 run seventh wicket partnership between Shamar Springer and Fabian Allen hauled the side to a formidable 178/7 after 20 overs. 

Despite a valiant 65 from Yannic Cariah, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots were bowled out for 119, Mohammad Amir taking 4 wickets in a brilliant spell and ensuring the Tallawahs won by 59 runs.  

The Jamaican franchise were restricted in the PowerPlay by the bowling of Sheldon Cottrell and Ashmead Nedd, with the latter taking the wickets of Brandon King and Kirk McKenzie to leave the Tallahwahs reeling at 31-2 at the end of the powerplay. When spinner George Linde took two wickets in successive deliveries in the following over, the Tallawahs found themselves in crisis at 34-4. 

However Raymon Reifer, Shamar Springer and Fabian Allen would all contribute with runs for the remainder of the innings, as the Tallawahs scored 72 runs from the final 5 overs to reach 178/7. The Patriots fell behind the over rate and were given a red card for the final over, with Cariah leaving the field.   

The Patriots lost their experienced openers Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher in the PowerPlay,  while big hitters Will Smeed and Sherfane Rutherford would lose their wickets shortly afterwards, with Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim bowling superbly. Yannic Cariah would score 65 off just 40 balls, his highest score in T20 cricket, but it was to be in vain as the Patriots were bowled out for 119, ending their CPL campaign with a 59 run loss.

Jamaica Tallawahs return to CPL action tomorrow morning where they will be taking on the Saint Lucia Kings.

Andre Fletcher starred with an unbeaten 93 to lead the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots to a four-wicket win over the St. Lucia Kings at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

This win was the first for the Patriots this season in nine games, their worst run since the 2020 season where they finished last after winning just one match.

The Kings were restricted to 149-7 off their 20 overs after the Patriots won the toss and decided to field first.

Shadrack Descarte led the way with a 31-ball 43 while Johnson Charles hit 42 for the Kings as Ashmead Nedd bowled beautifully up front for the Patriots with 2-14 from his four overs. Benny Howell also bowled well with 2-31 from his four overs.

Fletcher then starred with an unbeaten 93 from 64 balls including six fours and five sixes to lead the successful chase for the Patriots.

Sherfane Rutherford was the next highest scorer with 17.

Things got a bit tricky for the Patriots in the 17^th over when Fletcher picked up a hamstring injury which left him unable to run unimpaired for the remainder of the chase.

With that being said, the chase seemed comfortable up until the penultimate over from Alzarri Joseph.

The Patriots needed just 10 from the final two overs at that point before a brilliant over from Joseph meant St. Kitts & Nevis would end up needing nine from the last over with an injured Fletched and Corbin Bosch at the crease.

Roston Chase was tasked with bowling the last over. The first two balls were hit for singles before Bosch was dismissed caught at deep mid-wicket off the third ball leaving the Patriots needing seven.

Dominic Drakes joined Fletcher at the crease and was only able to get a single off the fourth ball.

Fletcher then ended proceedings with a six off the fifth ball to seal the win.

Kharry Pierre, Roston Chase and Sikanda Raza all took two wickets, each, for the Kings.

Trinbago Knight Riders improved their playoff hopes, as they secured a valuable 42-run win over Barbados Royals in the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday.

After Rovman Powell again won the toss and opted to field first, the Royals bowlers were fairly steady up front, but later found Nicholas Pooran in defiant mode, as the left-hander literally batted them out of the game with a superb unbeaten century.

Pooran’s 53-ball 102, which included 10 sixes and five fours, propelled Knight Riders to a daunting 208-6 from their allotment, before skilled bowling from Waqar Salamkheil (2-18) and Akeal Hosein (2-21), coupled with some poor shot selections from Royals batsmen at times, sealed the deal.

Despite a well-played 45-ball 70 by Kyle Mayers, his best score so far this season, the Royals were restricted to 166. Mayers hammered four sixes and seven fours in his knock.

Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 208-6 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 166-7 (20 overs)

Sent to bat in front a pack stadium bursting at its seams with a sea of red, the vociferous Knight Riders crowd faced early disappointment when Roelof van der Merwe took a brilliant catch on the boundary ropes to remove Mark Deyal (six) off Mayers bowling.

From 20-1, Pooran and Martin Guptill added 56 for the second wicket, which was inevitably gifted to the Royals, as the New Zealander advanced but failed to get bat on an arm ball from Rahkeem Cornwall and was stumped for 37.

It quickly became 78-3 as a mix-up between Pooran and captain Kieron Pollard resulted in the latter being run out by Mayers.

However, Pooran soldiered on and took the score past the 100-run mark with Lorcan Tucker (eight), before being joined by Andre Russell for an 82-run fifth-wicket partnership.

The two frustrated the Royals bowling with Russell smashing four sixes and two fours in his 22-ball knock, which unfortunately came to an end when he was given out on review for a faint edge.

Pooran eventually pushed past the century milestone, his second in this format, and with it, placed the Knight Riders in the driver’s seat for the two points.

In response, Barbados Royals lost their previous match winner Cornwall (four) cheaply on this occasion, as he went caught by Sunil Narine off Hosein in the third over.

Mayers and Laurie Evans (20) gradually restored the innings, as they added 41 for the second wicket and when the latter fell, it brought captain Powell to the middle.

But Powell’s stay was brief, as he went for nine and Mayers and Alick Athanaze (seven) followed soon after, and from there, the Royals never recovered.

 Jason Holder, who was given a reprieve off a Narine no-ball, failed to capitalise on the second chance and only mustered 19, while Van der Merwe’s quick-fire unbeaten 20 off nine balls, including a massive six and two fours, was not enough.

The win means Trinbago Knight Riders inched up to second on nine points, same as leaders Guyana Amazon Warriors, but the four-time champions have played two games more.

St Lucia Kings (eight points), Barbados Royals (seven points), Jamaica Tallawahs (five points) and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (two points), complete the table.

The battle for the playoff spots will be intensified when action resumes on Saturday. At that time, Patriots will oppose Kings and Knight Riders against Tallawahs, with a contest between Guyana Amazon Warriors women and Trinbago Knight Riders women, smacked in between.

Guyana Amazon Warriors moved to the top of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 98-run victory over the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval on Saturday.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first and that initially appeared to be an inspired decision when the Warriors were restricted to 55-4 inside the first seven overs. But excellent batting at the backend by Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd, in particular, powered the Warriors to an imposing 186-6

In reply, the Patriots wobbled from the start and were never able to recover, much less to get close to the victorious total, as they were bowled out for a paltry 88.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 186-6 (20 overs); St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 88 all out (17.1 overs)

The Amazon Warriors initially had a good start to the Powerplay, racing to 32 inside the first three overs, before Oshane Thomas struck twice in the fourth over to restore some semblance of parity to the game. brought the Patriots into the game.

He had Saim Ayub (21) caught on the boundary and Hazratullah Zazai (seven) caught by wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher.

Two wickets became four when George Linde dismissed Azam Khan (six) and Thomas returned to pick up Shai Hope's scalp for 13, to leave the Amazon Warriors in trouble at 55-4.

However, the Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer and Paul put on a 57-run partnership to rebuild the innings, before Dominic Drakes dismissed Hetmyer for a well-played 22-ball 36, which included three sixes and one four.

Dwaine Pretorius and Paul combined to put together another 48 from 31 balls to ensure the Warriors entered the backend of the innings with significant momentum. The former eventually fell for 27, but Shepherd came and slammed three sixes and a four in a seven-ball cameo of 27 to leave the Patriots an imposing 187 for victory. 

Paul ended unbeaten on 41 off 31 balls, his innings also had three sixes and a four.

Thomas was the pick of the Patriots bowlers with three for 26 from three overs.

The Patriots would have backed themselves to get to their target, but some poor shot selection made the task even more difficult than it was before. They lost Andre Fletcher (11), Evin Lewis (seven), Will Smeed (two) and Sherfane Rutherford (two), inside the PowerPlay and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Chris Bosch with a run-a-ball 27 was the only batsman to offer any real resistance, against Pretorius's three for 17 and Gudakesh Motie's two for 15, as the Warriors romped to a third-straight win and remain the only unbeaten team in the league.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors are now at the top of the Caribbean Premier League points table after a dominant 98-run win over the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

The Amazon Warriors first posted 186-6 from their 20 overs after the Patriots won the toss and chose to field first.

All-rounder Keemo Paul followed up his 56 in their last game with an unbeaten 41 off 31 balls including one four and three sixes.

Shimron Hetmyer (36), Dwayne Pretorius (27) and Romario Shepherd with a rapid seven-ball 26 provided excellent contributions to the Amazon Warriors total.

Oshane Thomas continued his return to form this season with 3-26 from three overs.

The Patriots, who are now winless after seven games, could then muster only 88 off 17.1 overs in another awful batting performance.

Corbin Bosch scored the bulk of the runs with a run-a-ball 27.

Dwayne Pretorius was the star with the ball with 3-17 from three overs while West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took 2-15 from four overs.

The Amazon Warriors are now top of the table with seven points from four games.

Barbados Royals shook off their hefty defeat to Trinbago Knight Riders and returned to winnings ways in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), as they bettered reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs by six wickets at Kensington Oval on Thursday.

The Royals won the toss and again opted to field first, but unlike it was again the Knight Riders on Wednesday, it proved an inspired decision on this occasion, as tidy bowling from Jason Holder, in particular, restricted the Tallawahs to 160-7.

Holder grabbed two wickets for 19 runs in four overs and Afghan spinner Qais Ahmad had two for 42 from his four, against Shamarh Brooks’ 41-ball 78 and Imad Wasim’s 33 from 24 balls.

Young left-handed batsman Alick Athanaze and Laurie Evans, then anchored the Royals reply with an 89-run third wicket stand that propelled them to 161-4 with an over to spare.

The 24-year-old Athanaze hammered three sixes and seven fours in his 48-ball 76, while Evans had four boundaries in his 30 off 26 balls.

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 160-7 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 161-4 (19 overs)  

Sent to bat, the Tallawahs struggled to find their boundary-hitting rhythm, especially after Holder accounted for captain Brandon King (one) and Englishman Alex Hales (12), in between overs.

Kyle Mayers earlier had Kirk McKenzie (seven) caught by Evans and the Jamaican franchise was reeling at 23-3 at that point.

Brooks and Raymon Reifer tried to repair the damage and started out well, putting together 54 for the fourth wicket. However, Reifer (16) fell with the score at 77, as he played all over a delightful deliver from Ahmad and was bowled.

Still, Brooks, who slammed four sixes and seven fours in his knock, found another useful partner in Wasim, as they added another 54 runs for the fifth wicket to add some semblance of respectability to the Tallawahs innings.

After Brooks holed out to Rovman Powell off Ahmad, the hard-hitting Fabian Allen (two) was undone by a beauty from Dutchman Roelof van der Merwe, bowling his slow left-arm spin, and Wasim, who had two maximums and two fours in his knock, was run out off the final ball of the innings. 

The Royals were always favoured to overhaul the target on what was a decent batting strip, coupled with the dew factor coming into play, provided they didn’t crumble like they did against Knight Riders.

When Wasim and Chris Green combined to remove the opening pair of Rahkeem Cornwall (17) and Mayers (four) –both of whom are yet to really fire this season –a sense of déjà vu may have hit the Royal fans that they were in for another disappointing night.

But Athanaze and Englishman Evans ensured it was not so. The young Dominican played the aggressor, as he took Tallawahs top trio of Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad to task with some lofty blows showing decent foot work and innovation in a mature innings.

Though Green had Evans caught by Amir midway the 16th over and Irshad bounced back to have Athanaze caught by Hales on the fine leg boundary, the damage was already done and whatever hopes Tallawahs had of a batting collapse, were erased by Rovman Powell and Jason Holder, who ended unbeaten on 10 and nine, respectively.

Despite the win, the Royals remain fifth in the standing on five points, same as fourth-placed Tallawahs, who have a slightly better net run-rate. St Lucia Kings (six points) head the pack, ahead of Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders, who are also on five points each.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are at the foot of the standing on two points.

Action will resume on Saturday with a triple header –Amazon Warriors against Patriots at 8:00am Jamaica time, Barbados Royals women against Trinbago Knight Riders women at 2:00pm and Royals against St Lucia Kings at 6:00pm.