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A brilliant knock of 87 not out off 45 balls by South African wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock helped Barbados Royals make light work of Antigua Barbuda Falcons’ total of 145 for 9 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday morning.
Thanks to de Kock’s heroics, the Royals reached 149 for 1 in only 15.3 overs. The left-hander and his right-handed opening partner Rahkeem Cornwall put on 80 in the first seven overs, with Cornwall’s contribution 34.
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When Shamarh Brooks, 21 not out, joined de Kock, the pair reached their target rather more sedately with no further alarms for the Royals. Fittingly, de Kock swatted Mohammad Amir over long-on for six to finish the innings quickly—with run-rate on his mind—and in fine style.
When de Kock was on 17 in the fourth over, he drove Shamar Springer, the pick of the Falcons’ bowlers thus far in the tournament, low to Kofi James at mid-off. The ball seemed to hit the heel of James’ right hand rather than his palms and dropped to the ground.
The Royals batting looks impressive on paper but even impressive batting can crack under pressure. So had that catch been taken, perhaps the Falcons may have changed their so far unkind luck.
It was not to be and instead it was de Kock who prospered. He kept hitting the ball out of the park, taking 22 off Springer’s second over—the last of the powerplay and the one following James’ reprieve.
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The Falcons seemed out of it and proceeded to their fate as a condemned man to the gallows.
Falcons captain Chris Green began with two overs of spin from Imad Wasim and himself and used the pace of Mohammad Amir and Springer to complete the powerplay. To no avail.
The first six over yielded 76 runs, compared to the Falcons’ 42. The bowlers all struggled with their lines and their lengths and were put to the sword by the rampant de Kock and Cornwall early on and the left-hander in the closing stages.
Earlier, Royals’ captain Rovman Powell won the toss and offered Green first strike. The wicket seemed to be good for batting, with not much swing or seam or unusual turn in it, and there was good carry through to the keeper.
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Still, the batsmen largely struggled through the power-play overs, losing two wickets and not even getting to 50.
Although they were playing in very friendly conditions—there was a very brief interruption for rain just after the powerplay in the second innings—and in front of a small but enthusiastic Sunday morning home crowd, the Falcons could not lift themselves.
Wickets kept falling at regular intervals as they were unable to string together any meaningful partnerships.
Only 17-year-old Antiguan rising star Jewel Andrew, who just missed out on a second 50, looked unfazed and comfortable. He was perhaps unlucky to get out in the way he did, inside-edging a widish ball from Obed McCoy (3/31) back onto his stumps.
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CPL history shows that teams can come back from disastrous starts and go far in the tournament, indeed, even win it. But after three straight losses at home, coaches Sir Curtly Ambrose and Shivnarine ‘Tiger’ Chanderpaul seem to have it all to do.
In the post-match interview, captain Green seemed to have no real answer to the question of how to move forward, how the team can pick themselves up.
He jokingly suggested to commentator Alex Jordan that she should do the talking at the next team meeting.
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After a third successive defeat, ABF know they must turn things around. Following Monday’s rest day in the tournament, they host St Lucia Kings on Tuesday evening.
The margin for error, they know, gets slimmer with every loss, devastating defeat or unfortunate slip-up.
As for the Royals, they are as happy as kings. After winning their first game of the tournament without breaking much of a sweat, they will almost certainly feel confident when they take the field again against Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park in St Kitts on Friday.
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Summarised scores
Toss: Barbados Royals
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons: 145 for 9 (20 overs) Jewel Andrew 48, Chris Green 20; Obed McCoy 3/31, Maheesh Theekshana 2/21, Jason Holder 2/24.
Barbados Royals: 149 for 1 (15.3 overs) Quinton de Kock 87*, Rahkeem Cornwall 34, Shamarh Brooks 21*; Imad Wasim 1/21.
Man-of-the-Match: Quinton de Kock
Result: Barbados Royals win by 9 wickets.
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Warren Thompson is a Tobagonian by birth, a life-long student of cricket by preference and an economist by profession. His formal training came at QRC, The UWI and the University of Wales but the assets/skills of which this father of three girls is proudest come from the School of Hard Knocks.
