A repeat of last season’s eliminator, the 2023 Republic Bank CPL season opener between Saint Lucia Kings and Jamaica Tallawahs did not disappoint. After reaching the finals in the 2020 and 2021 editions, we could only manage to reach the eliminator stage in the 2023 campaign and lose to eventual champions Jamaica Tallawahs.
An important toss that was won by our skipper Faf du Plessis, the former South African captain decided to bowl first. In doing so, we bowled out the Tallawahs to 187 in their 20 overs.
Tallawahs captain Brandon King was the star of the show with his magnificent knock of 81 of 53 balls. Last seasons leading run scorer stood strong at the crease while the rest of his teammates kept biting the dust on the other end.
A solid foundation was set by both the opening batters of Jamaica Tallawahs. Kirk McKenzie was dismissed for 20 by Roston Chase. Shamrah Brooks was next in line after he was sent back to the pavilion once again by our off-spin bowler Chase.
Our leading wicket-taker from last season - Alzarri Joseph - once again showed his credentials with the ball and dismissed Amir Jangoo for a duck. However, what followed from here, was a true masterclass of an innings from Brandon King.
Raymon Reifer joined King at the crease, although he was just a spectator, to say the least at the non-striker’s end. He scored a meagre 16 of 18 balls before Chase picked up his wicket.
From there Tallawahs’ batting order just collapsed after Brandon King’s dismissal against Chris Sole. Fabian Allen and Imad Wasim came up with handy runs on the board with their 15 and 19 respectively.
Jamaica Tallawahs did play out their 20 overs in the end posting a more than decent total of 187 on the scoreboard. Roston Chase was the pick of the bowlers for us with his figures of 3/39. Alzarri Joseph on the other hand bowled yet another economical spell with figures of 2/21.
The chase wasn’t going to be easy and the Kings were going to heavily depend on the heroics of last season’s leading run scorers - Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis. After a decent start from the opening pair, our captain fell prey to Imad Wasim’s trickery, dismissing the former Proteas skipper for just 9.
Sean Williams joined Charles at the crease and were giving the opposition bowlers a good run for their money. Despite keeping the scoreboard ticking they were dismissed for 24 and 26 respectively.
Without any doubt, the star of the night for us was Roston Chase. Not just with the ball, but the all-rounder gave us a chance in the chase with his quickfire 53 of 31 balls. While Chase was smashing boundaries, he lost Sikandar Raza and Kimani Melius at the other end.
This is where the chase really came alive when Roshan Primus joined Chase in the middle. Primus scored a blistering 37 of 20 balls and alongside Chase, they almost got the Kings’ over the line.
Saint Lucia needed 25 of the last 2 overs but with the dismissal of both Chase and Primus in the death overs, their chances of chasing the target became slim. Saint Lucia finished with a 176/8 on the board and the Tallawahs won the inaugural match by 11 runs.
We will play again tomorrow and will hope to do better against Barbados Royals.
