Fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn entered the history books on Saturday, August 22 as he became the first ever bowler from New Zealand to take a four-wicket haul in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. The St. Lucia Zouks pacer ended with figures of 4/33 in the game against St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, claiming the wickets of Denesh Ramdin, Sohail Tanvir, Rayad Emrit and Kieran Powell.
“We don't have superstars in the squad, but from the camp - the two days we had in practice what I saw is that the skill level, we have guys who can turn it away and who can turn it into the bat. What it comes down to is execution and today we executed really well,” said the Zouks skipper Daren Sammy in the post match interview, acknowledging the impact of the likes of Kuggeleijn and Mohammad Nabi.
Scott Kuggeleijn takes the @Dream11 MVP crown for match 7 of CPL 2020 #CPL20#CricketPlayedLouder#SKPvSLZpic.twitter.com/LOyh8wyVUe
— CPL T20 (@CPL) August 22, 2020
This is only the second four-wicket haul of the New Zealand seamer in T20 cricket, with his first one coming in the Super Smash tournament- the domestic T20 competition of the Black Caps.
With these four wickets in this CPL game against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Kuggeleijn joins an illustrious group of overseas players to have picked four or more wickets. The list includes the likes of Imran Tahir, Shakib al Hasan, Tabraiz Shamsi and a few more. The 28-year-old bowler from Hamilton is only of 12 overseas bowlers to pick four or more wickets in the Caribbean Premier League, since its inception in 2013.
Kuggeleijn is currently the leading wicket-taker of CPL 2020 as of day four of the competition, with seven scalps to his name. Playing his first ever season in this franchise competition, the pacer has adjusted to conditions quickly, and performed admirably on debut as well, claiming a wicket on debut and two in his next game.
Kuggeleijn will hope to keep his good form going in the competition, and would geared up for his next opponent Guyana Amazon Warriors who play the Zouks on Sunday, August 23.
