With the departure of Andre Russell to the Trinbago Knight Riders for the coming Hero CPL season, Jamaica Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller believes Fabian Allen is more than capable of filling in for the mercurial all-rounder.
Hero CPL announced earlier this week that TKR had signed both Russell and Nicholas Pooran for the 2022 season of the CPL that is set to run from August 30 to September 30, 2022. The two-time winners, Tallawahs signed Allen and compatriot Brandon King, who represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors, respectively last season.
Miller, speaking with Sportsmax.TV Monday night, said while the news might have come as a shock to many, Russell’s departure was something that the Jamaica Tallawahs expected.
“Russell, last year, made a statement that it was his last year, so I don’t think it’s shocking to us,” Miller said. “But look, he has been a gentleman. He called and said the reasons why, and this is franchise cricket, it’s a business, and as a business players have to look for out for the best for themselves and their families, so I wish Russell all the best and hopefully, we will see him back sometime in the future.”
That said, Miller addressed the king-sized hole Russell leaves behind in the Tallawahs line-up saying that fellow Jamaican, Allen, is more than capable of stepping up.
“I think Fabian Allen brings a whole lot to the dynamics of the franchise. He is a very dynamic player, fielder, bowler; he always has a good CPL and I am looking that Fabian will step in and fill that position that Russell left as a leading all-rounder and I think he is ready and he really wants to excel and we are giving him an opportunity to express himself in a big way.”
Miller explained that the Jamaica Tallawahs have also signed a number of international players that he expects will come in and bolster the team that only won four of its 10 games last season and failed to make the playoffs.
“I think when you see the combination of what we have in combination with the international players that we have signed that you will see that the Tallawahs will have a very competitive year.”
The names of the international players will be released by Hero CPL in the near future.
Four-time Caribbean Premier League Champions Trinbago Knight Riders have signed Jamaican all-rounder Andre Russell and middle-order batsman Nicholas Pooran for the 2022 season.
The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) finals will be hosted by Guyana for the next three years, starting in 2022. This is the first time the Hero CPL final will be held in Guyana and this long-term staging agreement will see the culmination of the tournament also taking place in Guyana in 2023 and 2024.
This season, Guyana will host seven group games, three knockout matches and the Hero CPL final which will take place on Friday, September 30 at The Guyana National Stadium in Providence.
The Hero CPL final will be the climax of festivities surrounding these games taking place in Guyana. The Government of Guyana in collaboration with the local private sector will also stage two weeks of events which will form a Cricket Carnival. This Carnival will celebrate the best that Guyana was to offer, showcasing the music, food and culture of this vibrant and fascinating country.
Over the previous nine seasons of Hero CPL there has been massive support for the tournament from Guyanese fans and the tournament is expecting significant excitement at the prospect of these hugely important matches taking place in the country.
Guyana’s economy is growing rapidly, and the country has a fantastic reputation as a destination for tourists looking for unspoiled nature. The Hero CPL finals will further showcase this wonderful country to a massive global audience – the total viewership for Hero CPL passed 500million in both 2020 and 2021.
“We are blessed with amazing fans across the Caribbean, and this is very clear whenever we visit Guyana where the atmosphere at Providence is electric. The idea of having the Hero CPL final in front of this wonderful crowd of passionate and knowledgeable cricket fans is a mouthwatering prospect,” said Pete Russell, Hero CPL CEO.
“We are very grateful to have such a positive relationship with the government and cricket authorities in Guyana and we thank them for helping us come to this hugely exciting agreement.”
His Excellency Dr Mohammad Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, said the citizens of Guyana are passionate about cricket.
“Cricket is much more than a game for us in Guyana, it is a passion, part of our culture and a unifying force. As we celebrate “One Guyana” the hosting of the CPL final will be an energizing force,” he said.
“We are building a product that will be spectator focused, integrated with our regional partners for a global market. Cricket carnival is a fusion of entertainment and celebration that will be mind-blowing and unbelievably different from any other global cricketing event. We welcome all to the greatest celebration of music, pageantry, Caribbean vibes with a South American touch and of course, cricket played loudest.”
The Hero Caribbean Premier League has delivered outstanding exposure and generated a significant economic impact to the 2021 host countries, St Kitts & Nevis. The tournament took place in the Federation of St Kitts between 26 August and 15 September with all 33 matches being held at Warner Park, Basseterre.
The total value delivered to St Kitts & Nevis from the 2021 Hero CPL was US$88,698,200.
This figure comes from organizer spend, visitor spend and sponsorship value. The report detailing all the deliverables was compiled by an independent and world-leading research company, YouGov Sport.
The total economic impact value for St Kitts & Nevis was US$8,990,210, with the direct spend being US$3,329,707. This figure takes into account the total spent by Hero CPL to put on the 2021 event as well as the money spent with local business by those who travelled into St Kitts & Nevis for the tournament, either independently or as part of CPL’s franchise teams.
The total spent to organize the Hero CPL in St Kitts & Nevis during the tournament was US$2,250,725 with local suppliers and businesses being the beneficiaries. In addition to the organizer spend, St Kitts & Nevis also benefitted from franchise owners and fans from across the region and the world coming to watch the games – an extra USD$1,078,982 of direct spend being attributed to this group.
St Kitts and Nevis also enjoyed huge exposure from the global broadcast of the tournament, a sponsorship value of US$79,707,790 being generated – the most any host country has ever received. A combination of innovative and engaging advertising throughout the Hero CPL broadcast, including branding and tourism vignettes, ensured St Kitts & Nevis was given the opportunity to promote itself to a vast global audience.
The total viewership figure for Hero CPL 2021 was 517.4million, with the tournament passing half a billion viewers for the second successive year. This massive TV and digital viewership helping to drive the fantastic sponsorship valuation.
“We are hugely grateful to everyone in St Kitts & Nevis who made the 2021 tournament possible, especially the Government who backed CPL to deliver another World Class event,” said Pete Russell, CPL Hero CEO.
“Special thanks to the Minister for Education, Youth Empowerment, Culture and Sport, the Hon. Jonel Powell and his team who left no stone unturned in ensuring we had a safe and successful tournament. We are delighted that St Kitts & Nevis were rewarded with these fantastic numbers and of course a winner’s trophy.”
The minister, meanwhile, was delighted at the news.
“I am very pleased with the data, in particular, the direct spend into our economy and the local employment at what has been a very difficult time financially. The exposure that our Federation has received to over 500 million viewers is of tremendous value, it is our hope that the world now knows St. Kitts and Nevis as not just a fantastic destination for R and R but also a great destination for sports tourism. We truly value our partnership with the CPL and look forward to developing new opportunities that we can share together,” he said.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots claimed their first-ever Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title as they defeated the Saint Lucia Kings by three wickets in a closely contested encounter at Warner Park.
The Saint Lucia Kings won the toss and chose to bat, as they did in their semi-final match. Despite losing wickets at key stages of the game, they built a total around the batting of Roston Chase, who stabilised the innings, allowing the likes of Rahkeem Cornwall and Keemo Paul to play with attacking intent and guide them to 159-7.
In what was a dramatic final, the Patriots managed to successfully chase their target with Dominic Drakes the hero with the bat, scoring 48 off 24 balls and securing a remarkable victory with the last ball of the match.
Saint Lucia Kings started their innings with the loss of both captain Andre Fletcher and Mark Deyal in the Powerplay.
Cornwall got the innings back on track with some power hitting but the Patriots utilised spin to great effect; Fabian Allen, Jon-Russ Jaggesar and Fawad Ahmed working in unison to pick up three wickets in the middle overs and leave the Kings in peril. Roston Chase anchored the innings and a late burst from Paul, which saw him hit three consecutive sixes in an over as he scored 39 runs off just 21 balls, took the Kings to a challenging total.
It was a dream start for the Kings with the ball, as Chris Gayle was bowled by a Chase delivery, and not long after, Evin Lewis was caught out, with Chase being the fielder.
Joshua da Silva and Sherfane Rutherford began to rebuild, but quick wickets, including that of captain DJ Bravo, saw the Patriots in trouble at 95-5. However, things would take a dramatic turn as Drakes recorded his highest ever score in cricket, firing six boundaries to take the Patriots over the line in dramatic fashion with a single off the last ball.
In a contest worthy of any final, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots prevailed and lifted their maiden Hero CPL title in front of a joyous home crowd.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 160-7 (Drakes 48*, Da Silva 37; Riaz 2-36, Chase 1-17) beat Saint Lucia Kings 159-7 (Cornwall 43, Chase 43; Naseem 2-26, Fawad 2-32) by three wickets.
The Trinbago Knight Riders finished in the top spot in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier thanks to a four-wicket win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. The Knight Riders will now face the Saint Lucia Kings in the first semi-final on Tuesday, September 14.
Guyana Amazon Warriors confirmed their place in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) semi-finals with a second consecutive win over the Jamaica Tallawahs.
Just like the previous encounter between the two sides the Amazon Warriors won the toss and elected to bat first, and although they found themselves in a perilous position at 75/7 – a blistering Romario Shepherd 72 not out ensured they set a target the Tallawahs never looked likely to chase.
In reply, the Tallawahs once again succumbed as their innings never got going amidst a cluster of regular wickets. Only late hitting from Chris Green prevented them from falling to a heavy defeat.
Guyana got their innings off to a slow start as Imad Wasim and Green made early inroads to leave the Amazon Warriors teetering on 36-3.
It was to go from bad to worse when the set Chandrapaul Hemraj holed out in the deep before Shamarh Brooks took a fantastic running catch to remove the dangerous Nicholas Pooran for 9.
Wasim then struck twice in his final over to leave the Amazon Warriors at risk of not making 100.
However, Shepherd’s power-hitting counterattack took the Amazon Warriors to a very healthy 142/7 to pile all the pressure back on the Tallawahs.
The Tallawahs reply got off to a poor start when they lost the clean hitting Kennar Lewis and Kirk Mckenzie to a double-wicket maiden over from Imran Tahir.
With the run rate rising Chadwick Walton offered brief respite with some boundary hitting before Hemraj got him to hole out to in the deep.
Wickets continued to fall as Smith and Shepherd got in on the act and at 42/6 the Tallawahs were left to rely on Carlos Brathwaite and Andre Russell to pull off an unlikely victory.
Some late heroics from Green gave them some hope but they ultimately fell to defeat and exited the tournament.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 142-7 (Shepherd 72*, Hemraj 21; Wasim 3-15, Green 2-19) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 128 (Green 31, Walton 20; Smith 3-20, Shepherd 3-31) by 14 runs
A remarkable run chase from the Barbados Royals ensured they ended their 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign with a victory against the Saint Lucia Kings at Warner Park on Sunday.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots returned to winning ways with an eight-wicket victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders on Saturday night to seal a spot in the latter stages of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
The Patriots bowled brilliantly and then backed that up with a dominant batting display that saw them knock off the victory target with 32 balls to spare.
It was Evin Lewis who was the star of the show, making 102 from just 52 balls.
The Knight Riders got off to a slow start in the face of some excellent bowling from the Patriots. They reached the end of their PowerPlay at 28-2 with both Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin dismissed caught on the mid-wicket boundary. Ramdin could have gone an over earlier, but Ravi Bopara put down a simple chance. Thankfully for the Patriots, this did not prove too costly.
A 50-run stand between Darren Bravo and Colin Munro steadied the ship and brought the Knight Riders back into the contest. Munro would go on to top score with 47 but when Darren Bravo went for 22 the Knight Riders lost momentum once again. When Munro and Kieron Pollard went in successive balls bowled by Jon-Russ Jaggesar it looked as if the Knight Riders would set a sub-par total but some big hitting from Sunil Narine took his team to 159-7.
The Patriots innings got off to a flying start thanks to Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle who was promoted to open as a result of an injury to Devon Thomas. They reached 67-1 from their PowerPlay overs with Gayle the wicket to fall for 35 from 18 balls.
When Gayle went it was Lewis who took up the attack, passing his fifty from just 27 balls. While Narine was economical, returning figures of 0/10 from his four overs, the rest of the Knight Riders bowlers struggled for control in the face of the Lewis onslaught.
Bopara and Lewis shared an 85-run stand, and Bopara contributed just seven runs as the Patriots opener smashed the ball to all parts.
This win moves the Patriots back to the top of the table and guarantees them a space in the semi-finals on Tuesday 14 September.
Scores: St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 160-2 (Lewis 102*, Gayle 35; Pollard 1-20, Khan 1-54) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 159-7 (Munro 47, Narine 32*; Jaggesar 3-32, Drakes 3-32) by eight wickets
Man of the Match Kennar Lewis smashed his second half-century of the season as the Jamaica Tallawahs made it two wins in two as they defeated the Saint Lucia Kings by 55 runs at Warner Park, St Kitts.
This win means the Tallawahs move into a qualifying spot for the knockout games next week but all six teams still have a mathematical chance to reach the latter stages. The Kings remain in third place in the table with all teams having two more group matches left to play.
The Tallawahs got off to a lightning start thanks to other brutal innings from Kennar Lewis who smashed 56 from just 24 balls. Lewis was well supported by Shamarh Brooks as the Tallawahs reached 78-1 off their PowerPlay overs.
While wickets fell throughout the Tallawahs innings they managed to maintain a fast scoring rate throughout with contributions from the middle order. It was Imad Wasim who pushed the Tallawahs past 200 with 10-ball innings worth 27 runs including three consecutive sixes off the 20th over.
The Kings chase started just as quickly with Andre Fletcher and Mark Deyal both making quick-fire scores as they reached 79-1 off their first six overs. Roston Chase and Deyal put on 66 runs in just 32 balls but both fell in the space of two balls to Carlos Brathwaite to bring the Tallawahs back into the match.
Those two wickets gave the Tallawahs a lot more control as they squeezed the Kings in the middle overs with Brathwaite keeping things very tight. The Tallawahs took two wickets in two balls twice more as the Kings chase petered out and the Tallawahs emerged victorious.
Jamaica Tallawahs 211 all out (Lewis 56, Brooks 34; Royal 3-37, Royal 3-53) beat Saint Lucia Kings 156 all out (Deyal 33, Chase 30; Imad 3-34, Brathwaite 2-13) by 55 runs
Trinbago Knight Riders battled to a six-wicket victory in their 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) encounter with Barbados Royals.
Jamaica Tallawahs inflicted the third successive defeat on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League with a 22-run victory at Warner Park on Wednesday.
The Patriots won the toss and opted to bowl, yet the Tallawahs were able to post a sizeable score of 169-8, largely thanks to some power hitting from captain Rovman Powell and Andre Russell.
The Patriots were unable to accelerate and chase the total as Tallawah bowlers Imad Wasim, Veerasammy Permaul and Migael Pretorius helped produce a disciplined bowling performance which earned the franchise their third win of this year’s Hero CPL.
Jamaica Tallawahs got off to a steady start, openers Kennar Lewis and youngster Kirk McKenzie batting through the first five overs before Lewis was caught out on the boundary. Shamarh Brooks top scored with 43 runs from 39 balls to consolidate before Powell and Russell hit fast runs to take the score to a substantial total.
Patriot’s stand out bowlers were spinners Jon-Russ Jaggesar and veteran Fawad Ahmed, who ensured their side took wickets throughout the innings while maintaining low economy rates of five and under.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, in contrast, had an indifferent start, losing batsman Evin Lewis in the second over, closely followed by captain Chris Gayle.
Devon Thomas and Joshua da Silva accumulated runs in search of building a foundation but wickets tumbled and only Dominic Drakes later on in the innings was able to strike at the required velocity to chase the target, hitting 22 runs from just 12 balls. Once Drakes was out and Fabian Allen dismissed in the 19th over, any hopes of a Patriots win evaporated and the Tallawahs were able to successfully defend their target.
Jamaica Tallawahs jump into a playoff spot with this victory, and will be hoping to stay there for the duration of this year’s league stages.
Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 169-8 (Brooks 43, Powell 37; Fawad 2-14, Jaggesar 2-20) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 147-8 (Thomas 35, da Silva 28; Pretorius 3-26, Permaul 2-31) by 22 runs
Trinbago Knight Riders moved back into the top four of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table with a seven-wicket victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs
TKR won the toss and elected to field first. This proved an inspired decision as their vaunted bowling attack ran through the Tallawahs top order. However, Carlos Brathwaite and Imad Wasim managed to rebuild the innings to give the Tallawahs a total to try and defend.
In reply, TKR overcame a rain delay to win the game with ease although they had several fielding mishaps to help them on their way. Lendl Simmons returned to form as his 70 lead the way for the Knight Riders.
With several enforced changes as a result of injuries in the camp, the Tallawahs got their innings off to a poor start with five wickets falling in the PowerPlay.
At the halfway stage of the innings, they could only muster 34 runs as the TKR bowling combinations of Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine and Khary Pierre offered no freebies.
Once Imad Wasim, making his first appearance for the Tallawahs in this Hero CPL, and Brathwaite got their eye in they were able to launch a counter-attack.
The pair put on an 83-run partnership from 64 balls to rebuild the innings and that was supplemented by some late Andre Russell sixes to give TKR a tricky total to negotiate.
TKR got their innings off to a watchful start, but Sunil Narine was dismissed just before the heavens opened leading to a rain delay.
Once play resumed TKR easily chased the 145 required as Simmons and Colin Munro put together a 102-run partnership to ensure there would be no drama in the chase.
Trinbago Knight Riders 145-3 (Simmons 70, Munro 34; Imad 2-19, Pretorius 1-39) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 144-7 (Brathwaite 58, Imad 42; Hosein 2-12, Rampaul 2-26) by seven wickets.
The Saint Lucia Kings repeated their performance from 24 hours earlier and once again recorded a win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in their 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) encounter.
The Patriots won the toss and stand-in captain Chris Gayle chose to bat first, yet it turned out to be a trial by spin as they faltered for 118 all out against the turn of Jeavor Royal and Samit Patel.
The Kings got off to the worst possible start in their chase, losing Andre Fletcher to a Fabian Allen delivery in the very first ball of the innings. They rebuilt via Roston Chase to comfortably reach their target of 119.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots lost their two explosive batsmen in the PowerPlay overs, as Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle were dismissed early. Youngster Royal was the stand out bowler with three wickets while Patel was the most economical. A mix-up saw the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford run out and while Fabian Allen tried to give his side a big finish, he was dismissed in the 19th over.
Despite losing Fletcher in the first ball of the innings, Saint Lucia Kings still had the dangerous Faf du Plessis, who raced to 22 off 14 balls, before being caught out. The in-form Roston Chase ended up seeing his side home with a superb innings that saw him reach yet another half-century, this time in 36 six balls, his third in a row at this year’s Hero CPL.
The Kings chased their target in the 16th over as the powerful Tim David helped take them over the line with a rapid 18 runs off 7 balls.
Saint Lucia Kings now have their third consecutive win of the tournament and move closer to the top spot of the league standings.
Saint Lucia Kings 121-4 (Chase 51*, du Plessis 22; Allen 2-30, Naseem 1-11) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 118 all out (Allen 34, Thomas 28; Royal 3-20, Patel 2-15) by six wickets.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots maintained their unbeaten start to the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a dramatic six-wicket victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
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