South Africa and the West Indies played one of the most amazing games of cricket you will ever see at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
In the second of three T20Is, the two teams combined for a record 517 runs including 81 boundaries and 35 sixes as the hosts needed just 18.5 overs to chase down a mammoth 258 set by the West Indies.
The catalyst behind the West Indies’ massive total was an innings from top-order batsman Johnson Charles that can only be described as special.
The 34-year-old right-hander, batting at number three, eclipsed Chris Gayle’s record for fastest T20I hundred for the West Indies, 47 balls against England at the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, when he brought up his maiden T20I century off just 39 balls.
Charles eventually made 118 off 46 balls including 10 fours and 11 sixes. He said the key to his innings was understanding the conditions.
“You know as a batsman, with such a good pitch and such a small ground, that you don’t have to over-hit the ball. I think that was one of the key points that all the batsmen had in the back of their minds,” he said in a press conference after the game.
This continues a remarkable career resurgence for the St. Lucian, who was a member of the victorious West Indian sides at the 2012 and 2016 ICC T20 World Cups.
After representing the regional side in a three-match T20I series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2016, Charles was dropped, with many writing him off completely.
“I think being out of the T20 side for six years definitely allowed me to do some soul searching and see where I’ve been going wrong,” Charles said.
After six years on the outside looking in, Charles finally got a second chance to don the West Indian colors when he was, surprisingly to many, selected for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia after an excellent 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which saw him finish as the third-highest run-scorer with 345 runs in nine innings, including four fifties.
Charles played two games at the World Cup and recorded scores of 45 and 22 against Zimbabwe and Ireland, respectively.
Earlier this year, he played an integral role in leading the Comilla Victorians to their fourth Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title, making 308 runs in nine innings, including a century and a fifty.
“I’ve gone back to the basics,” was Charles’ response to questions about how he has revived his batting.
“I made sure I have those down pat. Just coming back, it’s worked for me and, going forward, I’m just going to have to make sure that I keep focusing on the basics. If I continue doing that then I’ll keep on having great innings,” Charles added.
Hopefully, Charles can continue this form when the West indies take on the South Africans in the decisive third T20I at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The West Indies Senior Men’s Selection Panel on Tuesday named Roston Chase as the replacement for Obed McCoy in the 15-member squad for the T20 International Series (T20I) against South Africa starting on March 25.
McCoy was named in the original squad subject to medical clearance but has been ruled out of the upcoming series due to a knee injury.
Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes, said: “Roston gets an opportunity in the upcoming series as we see him being a versatile player who can be called upon at any stage in the game. We want to wish Obed the best with his rehabilitation programme and hope to see him back in West Indies colours soon.”
The three-match T20I Series bowls off on Saturday 25 March at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
The second match will be at the same venue the following day, while the third match will be at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday 28 March.
The T20I Series is preceded by a three-match One-Day International (ODI) Series.
The first two matches will be at Buffalo Park in East London on March 16 and March 18, with the final contest on March 21 at JB Marks Oval Potchefstroom.
T20I SQUAD
Rovman Powell (Captain)
Kyle Mayers (Vice Captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Johnson Charles
Roston Chase
Sheldon Cottrell
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Nicholas Pooran
Raymon Reifer
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
West Indies white ball match schedule in South Africa
Thursday, 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Saturday, 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Tuesday, 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Saturday, 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sunday, 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tuesday, 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel, on Monday, announced the One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) squads for the upcoming series against South Africa.
The West Indies will play three ODIs on March 16, 18 and 21, followed by three T20Is on March 25, 26 and 28.
In the ODIs, Shai Hope will have his first series as captain with allrounder Rovman Powell appointed as the new vice-captain. In the T20Is, captain Rovman Powell will be supported by a new vice-captain in batting allrounder Kyle Mayers.
Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has earned a recall to the ODI squad on the back of his performances during the CG United Super50 Cup last November.
He was the joint leading wicket-taker spearheading the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force bowling attack, taking 15 wickets in seven matches at an average of 14.2. He last played ODIs for the West Indies at the ICC Cricket World Cup in July 2019.
Left-arm pacer Obed McCoy has been named in the T20I squad subject to medical clearance. Fast bowler Jayden Seales remains unavailable for selection following a knee injury and subsequent surgery, while another fast bowler Anderson Phillip has returned to training but is not yet match-fit.
Lead Selector the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We have had some injuries to our fast-bowling pool so therefore we see Gabriel as an ideal fit heading into South Africa, and the surfaces we expect to play on. It is felt that we need someone to get those early wickets and he is the kind of bowler that can do that. Judging from his performances in the CG United Super50 Cup, he is potentially a wicket-taking option up front.”
Haynes added: “For the T20Is, we have an experienced squad. What we are looking for is to form a cohesive unit and look at the players who we believe can form the nucleus as we build towards doing very well and challenging when we host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June 2024.”
FULL SQUADS
One-Day Internationals
Shai Hope (Captain)
Rovman Powell (Vice Captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Roston Chase
Shannon Gabriel
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Nicholas Pooran
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
T20 Internationals
Rovman Powell (Captain)
Kyle Mayers (Vice Captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Johnson Charles
Sheldon Cottrell
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Obed McCoy
Nicholas Pooran
Raymon Reifer
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
White ball schedule in South Africa
Thursday, 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Saturday, 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Tuesday, 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Saturday, 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sunday, 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tuesday, 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)
Johnson Charles made a spectacular 79* to lead the Comilla Victorians to a seven-wicket victory over the Sylhet Strikers in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.
The Strikers made 175-7 from their 20 overs after the Victorians won the toss and elected to field first.
Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls including five fours and three sixes.
Earlier, opener Najmul Hossain Shanto made a 45-ball 64 including nine fours and a six. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman took 2-21 off his four overs for the Victorians.
The Victorians then needed 19.2 overs to reach their target, with the chase being led by half centuries from Charles and opener Litton Das.
Das made a 39-ball 55 including seven fours and one six to lay the foundation for Charles.
The St. Lucian’s innings lasted 52 balls and included seven fours and five sixes as he, along with captain Moeen Ali who finished 25*, steered the Victorians to their second BPL title in a row and fourth overall.
Charles ended the 2023 BPL as the 11th highest run-scorer with 308 runs in nine matches including one fifty and one hundred. He also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 26.
Scores: Sylhet Strikers 175-7 off 20 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 74*, Najmul Hossain Shanto 64, Mustafizur Rahman 2-21) Comilla Victorians 176-3 off 19.2 overs (Johnson Charles 79*, Litton Das 55, Rubel Hossain 2-39)
West Indian batsman Johnson Charles produced a magnificent 107 not out to lead the Comilla Victorians to a seven-wicket win over the Khulna Tigers in the Bangladesh Premier League at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The Tigers took first strike after the Victorians won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that looked like the right one when Mahmudul Hasan Joy was dismissed by Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah in the third over with the score on 13.
That wicket brought Tigers skipper Shai Hope to the crease alongside Tamim Iqbal and the pair put on a T20 batting masterclass, blasting the Comilla bowling all over the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
A 184-run second wicket partnership between them helped the Tigers reach 197 after 19 overs before Iqbal was finally dismissed five runs short of a magnificent hundred. Iqbal hit 11 fours and four sixes in 61 deliveries.
In the end, Khulna ended their 20 overs on 210-2 with Hope ending not out on 91. His knock came off just 55 balls and included five fours and seven sixes.
The Victorians reply got off to the worst possible start when top batsman Litton Das was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the wrist with the second ball of the innings.
This brought Captain Imrul Kayes to the wicket and he and Mohammad Rizwan put on 22 before Kayes was dismissed for five in the third over.
Rizwan was then joined at the crease by Charles and the two put on a display like that of Hope and Iqbal in the Tigers’ innings.
The pair put on what turned into a match-winning 122-run partnership before Rizwan was dismissed for a 39-ball 73 in the 14th over.
Charles continued on his merry way and brought up a magnificent hundred with a six over cover in the 18th over. His knock came off 53 balls and included five fours and 10 sixes.
He closed proceedings with a six in the 19th over to help the Victorians complete the highest chase in BPL history.
The Victorians now have 12 points from nine games and have secured their spot in the playoffs with a game to spare.
Scores: Khulna Tigers 210-2 in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 95, Shai Hope 91*) Comilla Victorians 213-3 in 18.2 overs (Johnson Charles 107*, Mohammad Rizwan 73).
Johnson Charles of the St Lucia Kings and Kyle Mayers of the Barbados Royals were among the 12-man 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament released on Friday. Noticeably absent, however, is Brandon King of the Jamaica Tallawahs, who is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament and one of only three men who have scored hundreds in this year’s tournament.
The team that was picked by the Hero CPL commentary team – Ian Bishop, Samuel Badree, Daren Ganga, Simon Doull and Danny Morrison, also includes South Africa’s Faf Du Plessis, who captained the Kings and Tallawahs’ captain Rovman Powell.
In fact, players from the Kings and Tallawahs dominated the selection with only Sunil Narine of four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders among the selectees while other than Mayers, only Jason Holder was selected among the 11 from the Barbados Royals.
However, the selection panel picked the Royals’ Ramon Simmonds as the 12th man as a result of his impressive performances throughout the tournament.
Simmonds is one of the 12 emerging players in the Hero CPL squads and has been an important part of the Barbados Royals team in 2022.
The 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament: Johnson Charles (Saint Lucia Kings), Kyle Mayers (Barbados Royals), Faf Du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings), Rovman Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Raymon Reifer (Jamaica Tallawahs), Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tallawahs), Jason Holder (Barbados Royals), David Wiese (Saint Lucia Kings), Alzarri Joseph (Saint Lucia Kings), Mohammad Amir (Jamaica Tallawahs) Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders) and 12th man – Ramon Simmonds (Barbados Royals).
Saint Lucia Kings made it three wins on the spin in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a thrilling one-run victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders on Sunday night.
The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that decision appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles’ half-century got the Kings off to a lightning start.
Although the Knight Riders pegged the Kings back in the middle overs a devastating 33 off 14 balls from David Wiese ensured the Knight Riders were set a very difficult 148 to win.
The Knight Riders’ task became even more difficult when they lost three early wickets inside the PowerPlay including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck.
They never really recovered from that and left themselves too much ground to make up in the back end resulting in the narrow defeat.
The Kings had got off to a flier in the PowerPlay with the tournament’s top scorer Charles hitting another barnstorming fifty. His partnership with Niroshan Dickwella added 59 runs before Ravi Rampaul carried on his good form by removing the latter.
When Rampaul removed the set Charles it led to a squeeze on the Kings scorecard as 82-3 quickly became 117-5.
However, David Wiese was able to produce an excellent counter-attacking innings at the death to help the Kings post a challenging 147.
The Knight Riders' response saw their top order fail again as Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran all fell inside the powerplay to Roston Chase.
That left the middle and lower order too much to do and despite a late salvo by Andre Russell in the final over of the game, it was too little too late.
The two sides swap places in the table following the results and both will now head to Guyana with all to play for in the race for the playoffs.
Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 147-6 (Charles 54, Wiese 33; Rampaul 2-10, Narine 2-31) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 146-6 (Seifert 44, Pollard 34; Chase 3-17, Joseph 2-26) by 1 run.
Saint Lucia Kings moved back into the play-off spots with a 49-run victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 20th match of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season on Saturday.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots won the toss and chose to field first, but it was Faf du Plessis who got the Saint Lucia Kings off to a dominating start by scoring boundaries throughout the opening overs. Johnson Charles then continued to score runs, before big hitting from David Wiese and Roshon Primus powered the Kings to a total of 189-7.
In their chase, the Patriots could not find fluency as they lost four wickets in the first 10 overs. Wiese was the stand-out bowler for the Kings, taking three wickets for just eight runs as the Patriots finished 140 all out and lost by a margin of 49 runs.
Saint Lucia Kings had a positive start to their innings with du Plessis and Charles comfortably hitting boundaries at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, although the former would lose his wicket attempting a scoop shot. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the Kings managed to score 189-7 largely thanks to the performance of Charles, who scored 61 and was at the crease for over 15 overs.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots had begun to build a foundation in their chase but lost both openers Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis in the fifth over. With Wiese then taking the wickets of both Darren and DJ Bravo, the Patriots began to rebound with Dewald Brevis scoring some crucial runs before he was caught out. As the Patriots lost more wickets, Kesrick Williams proving a threat with the ball, they could not keep up with the required run rate and were bowled out for 140, losing by 49 runs.
Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 189-7 (Charles 61, du Plessis 41; DJ Bravo 1-26, Khan 2-45) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 140 all out (Brevis 32, Khan 26; Wiese 3-8, Williams 3-32) by 49 runs.
Saint Lucia Kings kept their Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) hopes alive with a dominant victory against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia Sunday night.
The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first and that appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles and Faf Du Plessis put on a blistering opening partnership that saw them post 61 runs in the PowerPlay.
However, much like their performance against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Kings faltered badly in the back end of their innings losing nine wickets for 75 runs.
Despite the stuttering end to their innings, the 161-9 the Kings posted always looked tricky and the Patriots got off to a bad start in the PowerPlay losing three wickets for 48 runs.
They never recovered from that position as the Kings blew them away with an excellent performance in the field. Tim David led the way with a Hero CPL record-equalling five catches in the outfield.
The Kings needed a good performance in this must-win game and led by captain Faf Du Plessis’ 60 runs from 35 balls they set off very quickly.
Ably assisted by the in-form Johnson Charles the pair put on 86 for the first wicket but once Charles fell the Kings innings fell away. They regularly lost wickets in clusters and when Alzarri Joseph departed for a duck with the score on 124-7 it looked as if the Kings may not see out the overs.
However, late hitting from Matthew Forde ensured the Kings were able to post a par score of 161.
The Patriots' innings was in deep trouble very early on in reply. Matthew Forde ripped through the top three to leave the Patriots teetering at the end of the Powerplay.
From that point, the Patriots failed to build any meaningful partnership as their top order continued to struggle.
When Alzarri Joseph removed Darren Bravo for 20 to leave the Patriots on 81-6, that was the last of the recognised batters and the innings soon ended with the Patriots ending on 100 all out.
Saint Lucia Kings 161-9 (Du Plessis 60, Charles 41; Pretorius 3-37, Dananjaya 2-30) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 100 (Lewis 24, Bravo 20; Wiese 3-17, Forde 3-19) by 61 runs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors secured their first victory of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season with a win over Saint Lucia Kings by six wickets in front of a lively home crowd on Saturday.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to field, yet the Kings got off to a blistering start, racing to 77-0 in the powerplay before being held back by spinners Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi. The Kings finished on 161-7, with Johnson Charles batting throughout the whole innings and scoring a superb 87 off just 59 balls.
Despite losing early wicket, Guyana Amazon Warriors navigated their chase through Shimron Hetmyer and Heinrich Klaasen, who built a 66-run partnership. Klaasen would go on to score a sublime 61 from 46 balls to take Amazon Warriors to their first win of the season with ten balls to spare.
Saint Lucia Kings got off to a dream start, Charles combining with Faf du Plessis to reach 77-0 after six overs, the highest powerplay score of the season so far. Yet Shamsi and Tahir highlighted their quality by restricting runs and picking up wickets that held up scoring for the Kings. Tim David launched a late counter-attack, but it was Keemo Paul who shone with the ball in the final over, picking up two wickets and giving away just four runs, which saw the Kings end on 161-7 after 20 overs.
Guyana Amazon Warriors started their chase with intent, Chandrapaul Hemraj scoring five boundaries before being dismissed in the 4th over, with fellow opener Shai Hope being caught two balls later. Nevertheless, Hetmyer and Klaasen worked together to score runs and keep the Warriors close to their target. Despite Hetmyer losing his wicket, Klaasen would bat through to the end, and supported by Keemo Paul, managed to get his side across the line with ten balls remaining.
The win means Amazon Warriors have registered their first victory of the season, while Saint Lucia Kings have suffered their second successive loss.
The Barbados Tridents have announced their retentions for the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League which gets underway on August 28 in St Kitts & Nevis.
The Tridents will welcome back the world’s number one rated Test all-rounder and Tridents’ captain Jason Holder, along with fellow Barbadians Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Nyeem Young and Joshua Bishop.
In addition to the local playing contingent, the Tridents have retained opening batsman Johnson Charles and leg spinner Hayden Walsh Jr who was the player of the tournament when the Tridents claimed the Hero CPL title in 2019.
Tridents have eight spots left to fill in their squad and the remaining players will be announced in the coming weeks.
Kailash Pardasani, Barbados Tridents Co-CEO, said: “We are really excited to welcome back our retained players and especially look forward to making Barbados and all Tridents’ fans very proud in our upcoming 2021 season. Our primary driving factor is the Barbados Tridents family which comprises our players, their extended families and all fans across the globe. This together with our love and passion for the game of cricket will enable us to bring the Hero CPL 2021 title back home as we did in 2019.“
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
