Five overs to go, six wickets intact and 66 runs still needed for victory. Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) are chasing their first-ever Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title. Before a partisan crowd at the National Stadium in Providence, Guyana on Sunday evening, the right-handed pair of Roston Chase and …
Read More »RBCPL24: Aaron Jones steps up as SLK deny defending champions GAW the double
The deed is done. The defending champions have been defeated. By six wickets. And on their third attempt—having repeatedly discussed the distinct possibility of a double Lucian celebration this year after Julien Alfred’s sprint gold in Paris in the summer—the Saint Lucia Kings finally have their first title. On Sunday …
Read More »RBCPL24: Feeling the fielding—how David Wiese leads Kings’ bowlers’ support staff
A cricket match, a cricket sage once wrote, is played in the minds of the opposing captains. Were he writing in the post-20th century T20 world and thus disposed to making the compulsory compromises imposed by today’s audience of e-literates, he might not have stopped there. But, I imagine him …
Read More »RBCPL24: How ‘hit-and-hope’ Hetmyer overhauled his game to pace GAW
Shimron Odilon Hetmyer warmed the West Indies bench throughout the recent T20 World Cup staged in the West Indies and the USA, unable to land a place in a team that clearly was not playing its best cricket. Yet, mere months later, in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League …
Read More »Jewel, Evin in Windies white-ball teams; Pooran, Hetmyer, Hosein opt out
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a slew of changes in its player rosters today as the West Indies teams were named for a white ball tour of Sri Lanka this month. Among the notable absentees from the West Indies T20 International (T20I) squad were the in-form trio of batsmen …
Read More »RBCPL24: GAW coast into Sunday’s final after Royals collapse
When Ramon Simmons bowled Shai Hope for 56, the Guyana Amazon Warriors had not yet overhauled the modest target set them by the Barbados Royals. They still needed two runs. From 35 balls. And they got them to seal an 8-wicket win and secure the second spot in Sunday evening’s …
Read More »CPL announces Guyana and Barbados as final hosts for 2025 and 2026
The next two finals of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be hosted by Guyana and Barbados in 2025 and 2026 respectively. CPL CEO Pete Russell today announced their plans for the regional franchise T20 cricket competition, which is in its 12th season at present. “Guyana and Barbados …
Read More »RBCPL24: Tahir’s googlies turn back hands of time and give GAW hope of repeat
Siuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Tim Seifert turned Moeen Ali’s off-spinner off his toes in the direction of backward square-leg where Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Imran Tahir had stationed himself. It was over number ten of the second innings in Match 29 of the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Saint …
Read More »RBCPL24: Johnson Charles paces Kings into final; defending champs, GAW, try again on Friday
At 124 without loss in the 12th over of Qualifier 1 in the Republic Bank 2024 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Faf du Plessis’ Saint Lucia Kings were sitting pretty. Du Plessis and Johnson Charles, SLK’s unchanged opening pair, had powered their way to a score that put them in position …
Read More »RBCPL24: Kings veteran, Johnson Charles, learns new tricks in 12th season
Saint Lucian blood runs in my best friend’s veins. And he graces almost all international and regional cricket at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba with his presence. Religiously. So he has just a little trouble keeping his JCs apart. Let’s call him Christian, shall we? He is …
Read More »RBCPL24: Powell’s Royals see light at end of the tunnel; after controversial TKR KO
For roughly two hours, cricket fanatics in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean shared memes and amused themselves as the ground staff and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) organisers hurriedly tried to address the outage of two lighting towers at National Stadium in Providence, Guyana on Tuesday night. At approximately …
Read More »RBCPL24: Pooran bats lights out again but Royals send TKR home
Fresh from his stellar 101 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Match 30 of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Nicholas Pooran damblayed his impressive run-scoring form in the playoffs on Tuesday evening. But it was all in vain. Man-of-the-Match David Miller struck eight mighty blows, five of them …
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