Saturday’s two early games at Warner Park in St Kitts and Nevis saw a somewhat surprising reshuffle in the middle of the 2021 CPL pack. In the morning game, Faf du Plessis’ St Lucia Kings moved easily past the consistently struggling Barbados Royals by 14 runs, leaving Jason Holder’s side …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Abdulah wants Chase, Akeal, Rampaul in his dream WI XI; Gayle, Ramdin get in 15
“[…] At number three, my choice is Roston Chase. He is showing that he can hold an innings together—which is crucial in a team of big hitters—and his run rate is not bad at all. He has good technique, which is crucial in all formats of cricket, T20 included, and …
Read More »CPL 2021: Ali Khan, Pollard in spotlight as TKR thump back-pedalling Tallawahs
The official record will show Ali Khan as the Man-of-the-Match in the hugely important Match 19 at Warner Park in St Kitts on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Khan, returning to the Trinbago Knight Riders’ line-up after missing half the season, claimed four wickets for six runs to completely undermine the Jamaica …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Lord sees value in Cottrell, Fletcher and Narine for WI dreams; but wary of dot balls
“[…] I want at least six bowlers in my XI; you never know when somebody will have an off-day and be offering lollipops to the opposition like if it’s Christmas or Easter or somebody’s birthday. “[…] If Sunil Narine is available—he is featuring in the CPL so…—there is no chance …
Read More »CPL 2021: Allen, Sherfane set St Kitts alight as Bravo’s Patriots thump Tallawahs
The Patriots being the home team, after Wednesday evening’s events at Warner Park in St Kitts, the Caribbean Premier League may well find itself accused of condoning domestic violence. Led by Sherfane Rutherford’s third half-century and with a late 12-ball 30 from Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo’s high-flying troops beat the …
Read More »CPL 2021: CT scan of a WI cricketing brain: how Royals’ Raymon Reifer tamed Tallawahs
Just before the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup knockout round began, England’s Mark Nicholas dismissed the West Indies as no-hopers on the grounds that West Indians ‘have no brains’. It is a view that hardly flatters the other teams; the record shows that Daren Sammy’s WI went on to win …
Read More »T2021 W/C: MPD selects Hope to open with Lewis in WI XI but Gayle goes only as mentor
“[…] Age catches up with the best of us. In [Chris] Gayle’s case, that has meant waning hand/eye co-ordination, considerably less energy in the field and greater proneness to injury—all factors that have led to inconsistency in scores and fewer innings of note. “The Australia half-century—his first since 2016!—was nothing …
Read More »CPL 2021: Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin power TKR to six-wkt win over Jason Holder’s Royals
Despite their modest 122 on the board, Jason Holder’s Barbados looked like they were in with a chance of avoiding a second successive defeat in the 2021 CPL. For all of eight overs into the second innings. But the combination of the small size of St Kitts Warner Park ground …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Hope, Hetmyer, Walsh are in Persaud’s WI dream team but Simmons out starting XI
“[…] My opening batsmen will be Evin Lewis and Shai Hope. I say with utmost confidence that no one will argue with my selection of Lewis to lead the charge. The left-handed opener has the proven capability to destroy any bowling attack that he may be faced with. “The right-handed …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Thompson has Gayle, Fidel and McCoy in dream WI team—but wary about too many lefties
Let me say from the outset, like Michael Holding, I think the only thing missing from a T20 match is (in our case) a case or two of Carib and a pot of pelau, some bottle and spoon and a DJ, plus some ‘winer gyul’ (the IPL & the CPL …
Read More »T2021 W/C: ‘Jaiks’ puts Hope in dream WI XI, while Mayers, Akeal and Alzarri among subs
“[…] Shai Hope: batsman/wicketkeeper. My first surprise selection. Easily among the best batsmen in the West Indies at the moment; can accumulate without offering chances, stabilises the middle overs…” Ken Jaikaransingh, who rarely missed a day of Test cricket at the Oval when the WI were still the WINdies, selects …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Grant-Perez wants Chris Gayle, Khary Pierre and Sunil Narine in well-knit WI squad
“[…] Khary Pierre is perhaps my surprise pick. He’s never expensive and, like Chris Gayle, has the ability to stop the haemorrhaging of runs. “He could be the silent sniper with the wherewithal to take out the best teams in the world…” Anthea Grant-Perez, a recent graduate from the Ken …
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