A fantastic innings of 62 from 44 balls from Darren Bravo was not enough to secure victory for the Trinbago Knight Riders against the St Lucia Zouks in the opening fixture of the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Johnson Charles made a fifty for the Zouks before the experience of Michael Hussey and David Miller saw their team home against the reigning Hero CPL champions.
In tricky bowling conditions with dew making the ball extremely wet it was hard for the Zouks to find control with the ball in the first innings of the match, but they had done a fine job at keeping the Knight Riders scoring in check until the last two overs. It was from there that Darren Bravo launched his assault that on another day would have been match winning.
At the start of the 19th over Darren Bravo was on 34 from 35 balls, it had been an innings of patience and it had held the Knight Riders’ effort together, but it was far from explosive. That changed in those final two overs as he scored 29 runs from nine deliveries, with Bravo hitting three sixes in the last two overs.
The Caribbean Premier League, which begins its fourth season on June 29, has been praised for galvanising cricket in the West Indies, and for contributing to the region's victory in the World T20 in April this year. Some have suggested the CPL is the third most prestigious domestic T20 league in the world, after the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash. Over 300,000 fans attended matches last year, a 44% increase from 2014. As a sign of its future ambitions, the CPL this year takes the carnival to the United States for the first time - six matches will be played in Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida.
But the CPL also faces significant challenges. Every season so far has made a loss. This year, three days before the tournament began, the hosts of the semi-finals and final were still unknown. In the longer term, the ECB's determination to reform and modernise domestic T20 cricket could create a problem for the CPL if the competitions clash.
Damien O'Donohoe, the league's chief executive, speaks about the challenges and the opportunities the CPL faces in a year in which it will go head to head with West Indies' home series against India.
However, the pitches offered up during the series tended to be on the slower side, as has been the case in the region for many years. Langer said he found it baffling that pitches were prepared that would help spinners such as Sunil Narine, who he said was "still going to be a star" on any surface due to his natural talent, instead of fast bowlers who could rattle opposing batsmen.
"There is so much fast-bowling talent here," Langer said. "You've got big, tall, beautiful athletes, and they run in and bowl fast and they keep bowling all day, but I don't understand why they play on such dead, low, lifeless wickets. It doesn't make any sense to us.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Captain Jason Holder has hailed the progress made by West Indies in the just concluded Tri-Nations Series, saying the lowly ranked side had defied the expectations of many.
West Indies, ranked number eight in One-Day Internationals, entered the series against World champions Australia and the number three-ranked South Africa, as massive underdogs.
However, they managed to clinch a spot in the final against the Aussies and though they were outplayed by 58 runs in Sunday’s final at Kensington Oval, Holder believes his side had much to be proud of.
It is understood that deputy Prime Minister of St Kitts, Shawn Richards, has confirmed that his government is close to signing on the dotted line and the finals would take place in his country.
St Kitts is no stranger to hosting the finals as it was held there in 2014. The other two finals were held in Trinidad in 2013 and 2015.
