RBCPL24: TKR’s Shaq Parris and Pollard wrest win away from hapless Kings

Twenty-two-year-old Shaqkere Parris’ got a 20-ball half-century at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Tuesday. But Kieron Pollard needed one ball less to power the Trinbago Knight Riders to 188 and a 4-wicket win over the hapless St Lucia Kings in Match 12 of the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Cricket League (CPL).

A defiant 80-run fourth-wicket partnership between Roston Chase (56*, 40balls, 3×6, 2×4) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (33, 29b, 3×6) threatened to earn two much-needed, morale-boosting points for the Kings.

Never having beaten TKR at home before in seven previous attempts, the Kings posted 187 for 6, their second-best total of the season, and challenged Pollard’s highly rated TKR to overhaul it.

They did, thanks in large measure to Man-of-the-Match Pollard’s four sixes—shades of Carlos Brathwaite at Eden Gardens in 2016—off  Matthew Forde in the penultimate over.

Choosing to chase, the TKR skipper would have been very satisfied with his team’s start. Narine fell in the second over but the aggressive Parris (57, 33b, 6×6, 1×4) stamped his authority on proceedings immediately, racing to 31 off his first nine balls!

Halfway through the innings, his personal tally was already 50. He cleared the fence six times and, on the day, he looked more Nicholas Pooran-like than the out-of-sorts left-hander.

Alzarri Joseph had a delivery called wide in the fourth over of the innings and was manifestly angry at the call. When, after the drinks break, he returned for a second over, he let it rip.

Parris’ vulnerability against the short ball was exposed for all to see. After that, Parris struggled for fluency until he hit out at Noor Ahmad (2/35) and was caught by a tumbling du Plessis.

So 65 were needed off the last 40 balls when Pollard strode to the wicket.

He and Keacy Carty were content to take what was on offer until Carty fell, brilliantly caught low down by diving, 39-year-old substitute fieldsman David Wiese at 154 for 5. In the same 17th over, his second-last, Matthew Forde bagged another scalp.

With the deficit still 27, Forde returned for the 19th—to meet a different, no-nonsense Pollard. Four times the ball disappeared into the stands. Decisively.

The boundary Akeal Hosein smashed through point off the first ball of the last over was but a formality.

SLK skipper Faf du Plessis called it “a great game of cricket” and attributed his team’s defeat to the strength of the Knight Riders’ batting.

“We did a lot of things right tonight—we were in the contest for 90% of the game but came up against a strong batting line-up,” he said. “We went for 70 in the first six and that is my one concern [from tonight].

“We stayed in the contest right till the end but unfortunately, that second-last over went for a few too many sixes.”

Chase and Rajapaksa came together after Johnson Charles and du Plessis blazed their way to 40 off the first four overs before the stingy Sunil Narine (2/13) removed Charles (29) and Shadrach Descarte (0).

After the end of the powerplay, which yielded 57, Waqar Salamkheil (2/37) bowled du Plessis (33) neck and crop and brought Rajapaksa to the crease at 71 for 4.

Chase completed his 8th CPL half-century and notched his 1000th  CPL run before the left-hander eventually holed out to Jaden Seales at 151 for 4. After that, Tim Seifert and Forde got 11 each to push the target closer to 200.

Given Pollard’s power, those extra 13 runs were sorely missed.

Agreeing with du Plessis that it was “a very good game of cricket”, Pollard explained matter-of-factly that “everyone has roles and responsibilities, and if my role is to finish games, that is what I have to do.”

He praised “young Shaq [Parris]” for “showing his worth from the first ball he faced [and setting the tempo”. Saying that he loves “seeing the young guys [contribute]”, he gave the assurance that his team will “continue to do that (give opportunities to the youngsters). Until I call it quits, I’d like to do that.”

Both teams are back in action this week.

Riding high, TKR (4pts) fly—in an airplane—to Kensington Oval in Barbados to meet the second-placed Royals (4pts) on Friday. Pollard said he was looking forward to it.

“I have played there a long time,” he said.

It is no secret what the match-winning TKR captain was referencing. He started life in the CPL as skipper of the Barbados outfit and delights in biting the hands that once fed him.

But it’s the unbeaten home side that have got their noses in front at this juncture and look likely to extend that lead in Match 13 against fourth-placed Antigua and Barbuda Falcons on Wednesday—they won’t surrender their hard-won lead without a fight.

August 31 is already behind us and November 30 well ahead of us. In a tournament that has already had one game decided on the third-last ball and two on the last ball, which independent thinker would be surprised if this match-up produced plenty of fireworks?

The fifth-placed Kings (4pts), still chasing their first home win this season, will have another go at it when they take on table-proppers Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots (2pts) at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

“You look at all the positives,” du Plessis put a happy face on it, “and stay positive as a group.”

The Kings won the first-round encounter away in Saint Kitts—this year’s Match 5—by five wickets. Precious few of the 12 games so far played in this year’s tourney can be said not to have gone with the form book. Thursday’s game is Match 14.

Is it reasonable to arrive at any conclusions about one team batting first and winning by 14 runs?

Not in this imperfect world and when dealing with the game of glorious uncertainties…

Summarised scores

Toss: Trinbago Knight Riders

St Lucia Kings: 187 for 6 (20 overs) Roston Chase 56*, Faf du Plessis 34, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 33, Johnson Charles 29; Sunil Narine 2/13, Waqar 2/37

Trinbago Knight Riders: 189 for 6 (19.1 overs) Shaqkere Parris 57, Kieron Pollard 52*;  Noor Ahmad 2/35, Matthew Forde 2/49

Man-of-the-Match: Kieron Pollard

Result: Trinbago Knight Riders win by 4 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.