RBCPL24: Ahmad puts pointless Antigua Falcons in a spin, as St Lucia Kings win again

Not even the brilliance of their passionate coach Curtly Ambrose could spare the struggling Antigua and Barbuda Falcons the ignominy of a fourth successive defeat on Tuesday.

Led by Noor Ahmad, the St Lucia Kings’ trio of spinners set them up for a seven-wicket loss at the Sir Vivian Richards Ground in Antigua.

Asked to bat first, the home side could only manage 142 for 7, the lowest score so far in the 2024 edition of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.

It was an unchallenging total, which the buoyant Kings were completely unchallenged in overhauling with all of three overs to spare.

Kings’ skipper Faf du Plessis heaped praise on his mystery bowler, calling him “world-class” and saying that he is “happy not to have to bat against him”.

The team’s performance he described as “clinical”.

“The aim was to get through the powerplay and then, with quality spinners, you could get behind.”

Ahmad, Khary Pierre (4-0-26-1) and Roston Chase (2-0-11-1) did just that. Man-of-the-Match Ahmad (3/18) dismissed two batsmen with consecutive balls in his final over, the 17th of the innings, after claiming the scalp of home boy Jewel Andrew three overs earlier.

Finger-spinner Chase started the Falcons’ troubles, having Fakhar Zaman (21 off 17) caught by Pierre at 35 for 1. Given that the three previous opening partnerships were 7, 10 and 11, the Falcons were probably not unhappy.

But at 52 for 2, left-hander Pierre moved one away from Kofi James and removed his middle stump. Pierre also took a smart catch running around on the midwicket boundary to account for opener and top-scorer Justin Greaves (36 off 26, 5×4).

After that, only an unbeaten 29 by Imad Wasim gave the Falcons an outside chance of earning the two points they so desperately needed.

It was not to be. Not against the team that had chased down 201 against the Patriots in St Kitts on Sunday evening.

Skipper Chris Green introduced his spinners early and used them for 12 of the first 16 overs, including 11 straight from #6 to #16. But an off-colour Johnson Charles patched together a workmanlike, run-a-ball 47 and Tim Seifert, in the mood he was in on Sunday, finished things off quickly with a quickfire 26 off 11.

With 23 needed off the last 24 balls, he took Mohammad Amir (4-0-45-0) to the cleaners with three sixes and a four.

Du Plessis (28 off 15, 1×6, 5×4), who took 20 off Shamar Springer’s opening over at the start of the innings, explained that the pattern of the innings was no accident.

“I had to get going early and then it is about taking it deep to the extent that you can’t lose it and then go hard.”

But the Kings are very unlikely to have things all their own way on Saturday when they host defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in Saint Lucia.

Even less so the pointless Falcons, whose next assignment is on Thursday when they come up against the formidable Trinbago Knight Riders—again at home in North Sound.

Seeking to explain his side’s repeated failures, Green gave the assurance that “everyone in the team, we are trying out best” .

But, he said, it has been “a pretty similar story with the ball in all four games, […] we get stuck and we are not getting to 170. Today, we were 10-15 runs short.”

After four losses on the bounce, leaving runs out there is a luxury they simply cannot afford going forward.

“We know our equation,” Green told the post-match interviewer, “We need to win five from six.”

About coach Ambrose, the skipper said: “He is brilliant, he brings the passion.”

Unless together, coach, cricketing brains, captain and cook can find a way to arrest the lengthening slide and stop the four-time champions, whose batsmen have posted the highest total in this year’s competition so far, that equation becomes five from five.

And a top-four place may well be beyond them in this their first year in the RBCPL.

Summarised scores

Toss: St Lucia Kings

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons: 142 for 7 (20 overs) Justin Greaves 36, Imad Wasim 29, Fakhar Zaman 21; Noor Ahmad 3/18, Roston Chase 1/11

St Lucia Kings: 144 for 3 (17 overs) Johnson Charles 47*, Faf du Plessis 28, Ackeem Auguste 27, Tim Seifert 26*; Imad Wasim 1/21

Man-of-the-Match: Noor Ahmad

Result: Saint Lucia Kings win by 7 wickets

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Earl Best

Earl Best taught cricket, French, football and Spanish at QRC for many years and has written consistently for the Tapia and the Trinidad and Tobago Review since the 1970’s.
He is also a former sports editor at the Trinidad Guardian and the Trinidad Express and is now a senior lecturer in Journalism at COSTAATT.