Positives were taken from Saint Lucia Kings after our defeat in the season opener against Jamaica Tallawahs and we came back roaring in our second match.
We faced Barbados Royals in what could have been make or break for this season in terms of squad confidence and morale and Faf du Plessis’ men did not disappoint. After winning the toss once again, du Plessis decided to bat first instead of chase this time - taking the pressure off his batters.
As usual, it was our skipper Faf and Johnson Charles who took to the crease to open the innings for Saint Lucia Kings. Last season’s star duo provided a dream start for the Kings at the Darren Sammy Stadium. However, we were helped by some of the Royals’ fielding when McCoy dropped Charles in the second over.
The rampage from Charles and Du Plessis continued up until the 6th over before Charles was cleaned up by Royals’ all-rounder Jason Holder. Our wicket-keeper had already set the platform for us though scoring a quickfire 30 of just 19 balls, which included five 4s and one 6.
Holder continued to bring Royals back into the game with his spell, this time dismissing Sedrack Descarte. On the other end our captain kept hitting the ball towards the boundary, but unfortunately was caught out in the 12th over, after his shot fell straight into the hands of Bishop. Faf had done enough already by that time with his excellent 46 of 32 balls and set his team on course for a 200-plus total.
Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams were on the crease and the Zimbabwean duo kept the scoreboard ticking with some much needed boundaries. Qais Ahmed got his second wicket of the night in the 16th over when Williams was stumped while charging down the pitch. His knock of 47 of 30 balls propelled us close to a score of 200.
Wickets kept tumbling after Wiliams’ dismissal, with Raza next in line, dismissed by Holder. Roston Chase and Roshon Primus’ quick runs in the death helped the Kings post a total of 201/6 in their 20 over in what was a brilliant batting performance by us.
It was all in the hands of the bowlers now to restrict the Royals and get Kings their first win of the 2023 CPL. The 2nd innings for the Kings got off to a dream start after a miscommunication from Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers ended up in a run-out for the former at the very first ball and was dismissed for a golden duck.
Our young all-rounder Matthew Forde was given the new ball by Faf and he took the opportunity with both hands. In the third ball of his very first over, Forde cleaned up Justin Greaves with a peach of delivery for yet another golden duck for the Royals.
Forde continued his onslaught and bowled out yet another Royals’ batter - this time Kevin Wickham. It was Matthew Forde’s day with the ball without a doubt. In the final ball of his second over, Forde bowled a short loose ball and Powell ended up fining a fielder at the boundary. The Royals were 21 for 4 inside 3 overs and they were struggling for stability in their innings.
However that did not happen, and wickets kept falling at regular intervals for them. While his teammates kept biting the dust on the other side of the pitch, Mayers tried to put up a fight on the opposite end. Alzarri Joseph continued his fine form and dismissed Mayers for just 16 in the 6th over. The Royals were 89/8 by the 13th over. Nyeem Young’s 48 of 39 balls helped Jason Holder’s men put up a respectable fight and bring down the loss to just 54 runs.
In the end, the Royals were bowled out for 147, but credit to them for playing out the full 20 overs. First points on the board for us and that set us up for an exciting weekend with a match against Guyana Amazon Warriors.
