St Lucia Zouks jumped from last place in the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table to a playoff spot with a fine 20-run victory over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Stadium.
The win lifts the Zouks to five points and above both Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Tridents into fourth place, while for their part the Patriots remain on eight points having missed a chance to go second in the table and also guarantee a top-four finish.
While there was a good start and decent finish with the bat, the Zouks’ win owed much to a fine all-round bowling performance that allowed them to defend a total of 165/6 that felt no better than par at the halfway stage.
The Barbados Tridents have announced that Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be replacing Sandeep Lamichhane who will be leaving for national duty. Shakib will join the team ahead of their match against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval on Saturday 28 September.
Shakib has played in the Hero CPL before, representing both the Tridents and the Jamaica Tallawahs. When at the Tridents he recorded the best ever bowling return in Hero CPL’s history when he took 6/6 against Trinbago Knight Riders.
Shakib has played 56 Tests, 206 ODIs and 75 T20 Internationals for Bangladesh and was in outstanding form during this summer’s ICC Cricket World Cup where he scored 606 runs at a phenomenal average of 86.57. Combined with his ability as a white ball bowler Shakib will be a huge asset for the Tridents as they push for a spot in the Hero CPL knockout stages for the first time since 2016.
The Tridents have also announced that Dan Christian will no longer be available for this year’s tournament. He will be replaced by English left arm pacer Harry Gurney who has played 10 ODIs and two T20 Internationals for his country.
Outspoken West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding says it’s not all doom and gloom for the future of the region's team under Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt. However, he believes the current crop of players still have work to do.
Although he's willing, Holding says, for whatever reason, none of the current Windies players have reached out for help. West Indies players in recent years have had most of their success in T20 cricket but Holding is still a staunch critic of the format.
The government will partner with Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Coolidge Cricket Ground, as they seek to roll out the long-talked-about Four Knights Cricket Academy.
This is according to the country’s Minister of Sports, Daryll Matthew, who said the four knighted cricketers, Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Richie Richardson have all bought into the new concept.
The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been working with their very supportive sponsors and commercial partners to raise funds to support the relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. At the end of the match between Jamaica Tallawahs and Guyana Amazon Warriors on Wednesday 18thSeptember the total raised has passed US$40,000.
The sponsors who have supported this effort so far are Angostura Lemon & Lime Bitters, Sunshine Snacks, El Dorado and the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots franchise. As the tournament progresses more of Hero CPL’s sponsors will be getting involved in this programme.
In addition, the Republic Bank “6 for 6” initiative has now raised more than US$22,000 for the relief efforts thus far, with US$60 to be given by Republic Bank for each six hit during this year’s Hero CPL.
Damien O’Donohoe, CEO of the Hero CPL, said: “We were devasted to see the destruction caused by Dorian in the Bahamas and we want to do all we can to raise funds to generate much needed support for those who have been affected by these terrible events. We would like to extend our thanks to Republic Bank, Angostura Lemon & Lime Bitters, Sunshine Snacks and El Dorado for their support of this cause and we look forward to more of our sponsors working with us to raise funds.”
