2015 HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH REPORT 30 ( - Guyana Amazon Warriors (118-3) beat Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (117-8) by seven wickets with 18 balls remaining )

Tuesday 21^st July 2015 – Providence, Guyana

The Guyana Amazon Warriors brushed aside the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in the Hero Caribbean Premier League thanks to a brilliant innings of 65 not out from Lendl Simmons and four wickets from Marchant De Lange. The Guyanese spinners also played their part as they restricted the Red Steel to just 117-8 off their 20 overs. The Red Steel really struggled to come to terms with the slow nature of the Providence pitch as the Amazon Warriors made full use of home advantage to secure second place in the table. 

The Red Steel won the toss and chose to bat first. While all of the talk ahead of this fixture was about how well the spin bowlers would perform on this dry Providence surface, it was quick man Marchant De Lange that collected the hugely important wicket of Jacques Kallis. The South African all-rounder edged the ball behind to the keeper for just three runs.

Javon Searles came in at first drop but he never really got going as he made it to six off nine balls before he too fell to the bowling of De Lange, caught off a leading edge in the covers. De Lange claimed his third wicket when, in-form batsman, Darren Bravo edged a lifting delivery through to the keeper. 

While there were wickets falling at the other end, Cameron Delport was putting together a hugely important innings. While none of the top order got into double figures or managed a strike rate of over a run a ball, Delport made 44 runs off 30 balls. He lost his wicket in unlikely fashion when he attempted to cut the part time spin of Brad Hodge through the off side only to be well caught by Simmons.

   

With Delport’s departure the Red Steel run rate plummeted, scoring at just four an over in the aftermath of his dismissal. After a first over that went for nine runs, Sunil Narine returned brilliantly as the rest of his spell cost just eight runs. He combined with his fellow spinners, Devendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul, as they choked the Red Steel innings.

The only man to join Delport with a double figure score was Johan Botha who made 22 runs from 33 balls before he chopped the ball on to his stumps off Bishoo. De Lange returned for the final over and picked up his fourth wicket, a stunning performance on a pitch that didn’t suit his bowling as the Red Steel set a target of 118.

The Red Steel’s efforts to defend that total could have got off to the best possible start. Simmons drove the ball in the air off Derone Davis and it should have been caught by Dwayne Bravo but the ball burst through his fingers. Simmons punished the Red Steel straight away by striking seven boundaries inside the Powerplay, including one massive six that smashed the press box windows. 

While Simmons was going brilliantly, at the other end Assad Fudadin was finding scoring very difficult. At the end of the six over Powerplay the Amazon Warriors were 47-0 and Fudadin had just six of those runs.  Luckily for Fudadin, Simmons was taking all the pressure off him as he made his highest score of this season's Hero CPL.

Simmons appeared to get lucky again when, on 43, a ball that looped into the hands of Botha was adjudged to be a bump ball when the replays suggested otherwise.

Fudadin was eventually out when he pull a ball off Dwayne Bravo to Kevon Cooper at mid-wicket. He had made nine runs out of a partnership of 54. Denesh Ramdin came in at the fall of the first wicket, but he too struggled to get going. He had made just five when he was stumped off a wide from Johan Botha.

As with Delport in the Red Steel innings, Simmons was struggling to find someone that could keep him company. That problem was solved when, T20 veteran, Brad Hodge arrived at the crease. His 33 was the perfect foil for Simmons efforts as the Amazon Warriors got home with 18 balls to spare.

This win means that the Barbados Tridents are confirmed as the table toppers after the group stage meaning they qualify automatically for Sunday’s final, with the Amazon Warriors in second. The Red Steel will now face the Appleton Estate Jamaica Tallawahs in the eliminator match on Thursday at Queen’s Park Oval at 6pm (EST). The winner of that match will face the Amazon Warriors for a place in the final. 

2015 HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH REPORT 28 ( - Barbados Tridents (125-9) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors (111-6) by 14 runs )

Saturday 18th July – Providence, Guyana

The Barbados Tridents bowled brilliantly as a unit to defend 125 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. Rayad Emrit, Kieron Pollard and Robin Peterson all did an outstanding job in preventing the Amazon Warriors from getting to a target that they could have reached with some ease. When the Tridents had batted, Jason Holder had top scored with 30 as he helped get his side to a total that they could feasibly defend, but it is the bowlers that deserve the credit.

The Barbados Tridents gave a chance to USA opening batsman Steven Taylor at the top of the order and the 21-year-old did not look out of place as he smashed Veerasammy Permaul over long on for six. Unfortunately for the young man, who was getting a chance on such a big stage, he could not make the most of it as he mistimed a pull shot off David Wiese for 13.

Wiese collected the wicket of Taylor’s fellow opener, Dwayne Smith, in the same over to leave the Tridents 30-2 with two batsman at the crease that had yet to face a ball. Wiese collected his third wicket when the wily South African seamer had Jonathan Carter caught at the wicket for seven.

During the middle overs it was the spin bowlers that were the stars of the show. Sunil Narine was at his parsimonious best. For the second game in succession he bowled a maiden, quite an achievement in this harum-scarum form of the game.

While Narine was collecting dot balls it was Devendra Bishoo that was collecting wickets. Bishoo managed to dismiss Robin Petersen and Misbah-ul-Haq as, for the second match in a row, the Providence pitch took turn and bounce from the spinners.

Wiese returned at the end of the innings to complete the third five-wicket haul of his career, ending up with figures of 5-30, as the Tridents stumbled to 125-9. Only Jason Holder produced an innings of any substance, high scoring with 30 runs from just 17 balls. If not for him the Tridents would have struggled to make if past the 100 mark.

The Amazon Warriors began their chase in steady fashion, clearly deciding that a measured approach was the way to go in these conditions.  They made it to 23-0 off their Powerplay as the hugely experienced Brad Hodge and Lendl Simmons looked to keep wickets in hand chasing a target of just over a run a ball.

The approach was not without risk as the required rate increased rapidly on a surface where it was tricky to score rapidly without losing wickets in clusters. Some of the pressure that was built up was released when Tridents captain, Kieron Pollard, turned to his inexperienced leg spinner, Imran Khan. He was taken for eight runs off his first over as the batsmen made a conscious effort to target him.  

Khan came back well in his next over, dismissing Hodge to a ball that the batsman tried to cut but it was too close to him for the shot. He only succeeded in chopping the ball onto the stumps having made 27 from 28.

At the halfway point of the Amazon Warriors innings they had made it to 45-1 and that became 45-2 when Simmons was well caught at point off Pollard from the first ball of the 11^th over.

Umar Akmal and Denesh Ramdin combined in a partnership of 28 at a run a ball, however Akmal was dismissed for 20 off the bowling of Pollard as the Amazon Warriors were left needing 10 an over to win.

Ramdin was needed to be there at the end for the Amazon Warriors to reach their target, but he could not get his side home. The Amazon Warriors captain looped a tame catch to Misbah at point off Rayad Emrit.

Some powerful late order hitting from Christopher Barnwell got the Amazon Warriors close, but he was left with too much to do with 24 needed off the last over. He swung manfully but the Guyanese side came up 14 runs short. 

This win means that the Tridents will finish in second place in the table at worst and only the Red Steel can finish above them if they win both of their remaining fixtures. Last year’s champions did brilliantly well to dig deep and defend this total and it bodes well for them in the latter stages.

For the Amazon Warriors, results elsewhere mean that it would take massive swings in net run rate in the remaining fixtures for them not to be competing in the eliminators. If they can win their last game against the Red Steel they will qualify with some ease.

2015 HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH REPORT 26 ( - Guyana Amazon Warriors (112-7) beat St Lucia Zouks (111-7) by three wickets with 12 balls remaining )

Friday 17th July – Providence, Guyana

A phenomenal bowling spell from Sunil Narine, for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, helped them to victory against the St Lucia Zouks in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. His four overs cost just six runs as he once again proved why he is the most sought after spinner in Twenty20 cricket. Having been set 112 to win, the Amazon Warriors made hard word of getting there as they reached their victory target with three wickets and 12 balls in hand, with Denesh Ramdin seeing them home with 39 not out.

The Zouks batted first and the bowler that looked most likely to break their prolific opening partnership appeared to be left-arm spinner, Veersammy Permaul. He almost had Andre Fletcher dismissed stumped with the second ball of the match and had an incredibly close LBW shout against Johnson Charles turned down.

Charles could not make the most of his apparent good fortune, he was bowled by David Wiese for 11 (9). Although it was the South African quick bowler that got that first breakthrough, it was Permaul that was causing the most issues for the batsman as he varied his pace beautifully to keep the opposition guessing. He completed his full allocation of four overs in that opening spell, claiming figures of 1-17 in the process.

The Zouks made it to 43-1 at the end of the Powerplay, but they should have been two wickets down. Pietersen smashed the ball straight to Umar Akmal in the covers only for the Pakistani international to drop a very simple chance. Pietersen was on 16 at the time.

Sunil Narine was introduced into the attack in the seventh over and he was in the wickets straight away as he completely changed the complexion of the innings. He dismissed Fletcher LBW with a top spinner that shot on to the batsman. Delorn Johnson was promoted up the order as a left-handed pinch-hitter. The experiment lasted one ball, Johnson going for a golden duck when he smashed his first ball straight up in the air.

Narine continued the wicket taking in his next over when he got another LBW, this time it was the Zouks’ captain, Pietersen, that was trapped in front of his stumps for 24. The spinner was unplayable on a Providence pitch that took real turn. After two overs he had taken three wickets for just one run. He finished with 3-6 in a spell that included 18 dot balls.

The spinners terrorised the Zouks throughout their innings, with even the part time tweakers of Brad Hodge claiming the wicket of Kyle Mayers. The St Lucians managed only two boundaries between the sixth and 17^th over as the spinners completely tied down their opponents.   

A partnership of 43 between Ross Taylor and Henry Davids gave the Zouks total some respectability as they made it to 111-7, but it was never going to be enough.

The first two overs were a perfect start for the Amazon Warriors as they made it to 19 without loss, but a wicket maiden in Johnson’s first over brought the Zouks back into things. The Guyanese side had made it to 47-1 off their Powerplay overs.

Just as Narine had done so for the Amazon Warriors, Keron Cottoy made a massive difference as he recorded career best figures of 4-18.

A change of ball, as a result of dew soaking the innings began with, led to an immediate change in momentum as Cottoy picked up the wickets of Simmons and Brad Hodge in the space of three balls. Things got even more interesting when the young leg spinner dismissed Umar Akmal LBW, but a big inside edge should have saved the batsman.

Cottoy’s contribution became even more telling when he bowled Christopher Barnwell for seven with a full ball that the batsman missed while trying to play an expansive drive. In the same over Wiese was run out for a duck going for a single that wasn’t there. A further run out saw the Amazon Warriors loose six wickets for 18 runs to leave them 83-7.

As the Zouks looked around for spin options, Pietersen turned to Fletcher for his first ever over in Twenty20 cricket. The Zouks just did not have enough runs to defend, but they fought brilliantly until the end. A Permaul six sealed the win in a thrilling match that was enjoyed by a big crowd in Providence as he and his skipper saw their team home.

This win takes the Amazon Warriors to second place in the table, and, with two home games remaining, they are well placed to make the latter stages of the event, conceivably as table toppers going straight to the final.

For the Zouks they finish their 10 matches with nine points. At present they sit in fourth place and would make the knockout games if the league were to finish today, but with all of the other teams having games in hand their final finishing position will depend on how results go over the next few days.

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS VS JAMAICA TALLAWAHS – MATCH ABANDONED WITHOUT A BALL BOWLED

Wednesday 15^th July – Providence, Guyana

Persistent rain caused the match between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and Appleton Estate Jamaica Tallawahs to be abandoned in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. Despite the sterling efforts of the Providence ground staff there was never a break in the weather that was long enough to get cricket underway. A six over match was scheduled to begin at 9.15pm local time but yet another rain shower made that impossible.

A “no result” means that the teams get one point each pushing the Tallawahs up to second, ahead of the St Lucia Zouks on net run rate. The Jamaican side have just one match remaining in the group stages so can now garner a maximum of 11 points. Whether they finish in the top four will depend on the results of others.

The Amazon Warriors remain in 5^th place but, with three games in hand, they can still progress but they will need to win at least two of those remaining matches to be confident of competing in the knockout stages. If they win all three there is a theoretical chance they could finish top of the league and qualify automatically for the final, but that too would depend on how results go for the other teams.

2015 HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH REPORT 23 ( - St Lucia Zouks (91-6) beat Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (90-4) by four wickets. Match reduced to nine overs per side )

Tuesday 14^th July – Port of Spain, Trinidad

A brilliant all-round display from, South African legend, Jacques Kallis was not enough see the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel home against the St Lucia Zouks in a shortened game in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. Persistent rain and a wet outfield meant that the match was reduced to just nine overs a side but they eventually got underway. Kallis top scored for the Red Steel with the bat and claimed three wickets, but the Zouks got home off the last ball in a thrilling finish at Queen’s Park Oval.

After the lengthy rain delay, the Red Steel batted first with Kallis opening the batting with, fellow South African, Cameron Delport. Nathan McCullum opened the bowling with the Zouks feeling that the spinner would do best with the ball still dry.

It was the quick man, Fidel Edwards, that got the first breakthrough when he bowled Delport with a perfect yorker that dismissed the opener for just nine runs.  Edwards should have got the wicket of William Perkins two balls later when an LBW shout that looked very out was turned down by Umpire Mick Martell.  Perkins did not make the most of his good fortune, he was out caught behind off the bowling of Delorn Johnson for a three ball duck.

It was Kallis who did the most of the damage for the Red Steel, the veteran all-rounder making 38 runs off 19 balls as his side made it to 90-4 off their nine overs. Javon Searles departed when he top edged a hook off Johnson for just six runs, as the Red Steel struggled to put together a really telling partnership.

Kallis couldn’t carry his bat, falling to the leg spin of Keron Cottoy when he skied a ball that was well caught by Kevin Pietersen.

The wicket of Kallis brought Darren and Dwayne Bravo together and the brothers finished off the innings with a flourish as they added 35 runs off 16 balls. It should have been far fewer, Andre Fletcher had the chance to dismiss Darren Bravo when the elegant left-hander was on one but he missed a simple stumping off Cottoy.

The Zouks chase got off to the worst possible start when they lost their leading run scorer for just three runs in the second over when Andre Fletcher was caught in the deep off the bowling of Kallis.

After Fletcher departed, Pietersen and Johnson Charles were keeping up with the required rate until an over for Sulieman Benn put them under real pressure. The tall left arm spinner conceded just two runs off the fourth over and that pressure told when Pietersen was dismissed going for a big shot off Kevon Cooper.

Benn was just as miserly in the first five balls of his second over having conceded just four runs when Henry Davids crashed a huge six off the last delivery to put the Zouks right back in the match. Davids departed for nine off six balls but Charles hung around to leave his side needing 24 runs off the last two overs.

Charles could not see his side home, dismissed by a brilliant Kallis yorker than uprooted his off stump. In a see-saw affair it looked as if the Red Steel were in front only for a Kyle Mayers six to bring the Zouks back into things. Mayers tried for another big one off Kallis and was caught on the boundary as Kallis finished with 3-15 off his two overs.

That left the Zouks needing 17 off the last over with Nathan McCullum and Ross Taylor at the crease. Two edged fours and a scrambled two left seven needed off three balls. McCullum tried to draw the scores level with a six but only managed to clip the ball to Searles off a Dwayne Bravo slower ball.

The Zouks needed seven from two with Taylor on strike. The New Zealander smashed the fifth ball of the final over for six to leave the St Lucian side requiring one to win off the final ball. Taylor made no mistake as he bunted the ball into the leg side to jog through for one run.

This last gasp win for the Zouks takes them to second in the table but they only have one match left to play. For the Red Steel the defeat means that they remain rooted to the foot of the table but they still have four matches to play, three of them at home. A sustained run of success in those matches could still see them qualify for the knock-out stages with relative ease.

NEW KALLCO HOUSE OF BACCHANAL STAND PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR HERO CPL MATCHES IN TRINIDAD ( - Ticket packages available for all of Red Steel home games and the Grand Final )

Monday 13^th July 2015 – Port of Spain, Trinidad

Due to the huge demand for tickets for the Hero CPL matches in Trinidad and Tobago, the Hero CPL has announced that it is putting an additional stand in place with ticket packages going on sale from today (Monday, 13^th July).  CPL has teamed up with local sponsors, Kallco to create the Kallco House of Bacchanal Stand which will increase the available capacity at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Tickets for the new Kallco House of Bacchanal Stand are available as a package of four Red Steel home games plus the Grand Final at TTD$1800.  Ticket packages are available online at CPLT20.com and at the Queen’s Park Oval box office.

Tickets for this stand will also be available for Semi Finals separately at TTD$400 for each match, while tickets for individual Red Steel group matches will be available at TTD$300.

Damien O’Donohoe, Chief Executive Officer, Hero CPL, said: “The demand for tickets for Hero CPL matches in Trinidad has been phenomenal and while the Final has been sold out for some time, this new package will give fans another chance to book their seats for all the Red Steel home games and the Final in one package.  There is nothing quite like the electric atmosphere at a packed Queen’s Park Oval - cricket fans in Trinidad are among the best in the world - so we’re delighted to offer more capacity for the closing stages of CPL 2015.”

ENDS

ABOUT THE HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE

The Hero Caribbean Premier League is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere.  The Barbados Tridents are the defending champions from 2014.

2015 HERO CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCH REPORT 21 ( - Barbados Tridents (146-7) beat Jamaica Tallawahs (129-7) by 17 runs )

Saturday 11^th July – Kingston, Jamaica

A star performance from Barbados Tridents captain Kieron Pollard with bat, ball and in the field helped to deny the Appleton Estate Jamaica Tallawahs the chance to replace their opponents at the top of the Hero Caribbean Premier League table in front of a sell-out crowd at Sabina Park.

Krishmar Santokie, the leading wicket-taker in this year’s Hero CPL, opened up the bowling for the Tallawahs with a typically accurate and economical over. Dilshan Munaweera plundered Daniel Vettori for 12 runs, first coming down the wicket to smash the Kiwi spinner over wide long on before driving over cover for four. Not to be outdone by his partner, Dwayne Smith latched onto a ball that Santokie overpitched and chipped it powerfully for six.

The breakthrough for the Tallawahs came off Jerome Taylor’s first ball. His extra pace and bounce was too much for Munaweera, who popped an easy catch to, fellow Sri Lankan, Mahela Jayawardene and departed for 18 off 14 balls.

After the wicket, Taylor and then Rusty Theron started to put the squeeze on the new batsman Jonathan Carter to restrict the Tridents to 34-1 in the Powerplay. The pressure told again when Carter (six off 14 balls) pulled Rusty Theron straight to Chris Lynn on the deep square leg boundary.

Tridents captain Kieron Pollard joined Smith at the crease, and together they looked to rebuild the innings. Smith broke the shackles somewhat as the halfway stage approached, cutting Vettori for the Tridents’ first boundary in six overs.

Just as things were looking up for the Tridents, a terrible mix-up and an incredible throw from Santokie in the deep combined to break the partnership with a run out that left Smith heading for the dugout at 27 off 25.

Vettori then removed Misbah-ul-Haq for a disappointing three ball duck with a flighted delivery that induced a thick edge to the keeper. Pollard had a let-off shortly after when a top edge just evaded the leaping Walton behind the stumps.

Jason Holder struck some fine boundaries in a cameo of 26 from 22, but Pollard took the lead in the Tridents’ final assault with a ramp over long leg and then a six and a four off consecutive balls from Krishmar Santokie.

Pollard had another life when Jermaine Blackwood took the ball only for it to bounce out of his hand when his elbow hit the ground. Rain then interrupted the game for about an hour and broke up the Tridents’ momentum: Andre Russell knocked out Jason Holder’s stumps with the first ball after the restart.

Two balls later Russell had another victim when Navin Stewart heaved the ball to Daniel Vettori, but Russell was down on the floor when he was struck on the leg by a powerful drive from Kieron Pollard in his follow-through. He bravely completed his over before limping off for treatment.

A chaotic and exciting final over saw Pollard reach his half-century off 35 balls, and take his side to a competitive 146-7 with a last-ball maximum over the wide-midwicket boundary.

Tallawahs captain Chris Gayle started in ominous fashion, top-edging a massive six off the bowling of Jason Holder. It was not to be his night however, as he smacked a powerful drive to extra cover. Australian batsman Chris Lynn started brightly, but perished to a soft dismissal when Pollard brought Robin Peterson on to bowl, chopping onto his stumps for 13 off seven.

Pollard then moved himself to silly point and, sure enough, Mahela Jayawardene popped the first ball to him where he took a stunning reflex catch. Peterson claimed his third wicket in the over when Blackwood was bowled playing for turn that wasn’t there.

After losing four wickets in the Powerplay, the Tallawahs looked to rebuild through Walton and Bonner, but the Tridents continued to pile on the pressure and they needed nearly eight an over from the final ten.

The pair looked to be taking the match close into the final overs, but Rayad Emrit managed to sneak one through Chadwick Walton’s defences to end his anchoring innings of 46 off 45 deliveries.

Andre Russell is known for occasionally pulling off impossible run-chases, but tonight was not his night. He smashed 15 off 10 balls before Pollard once again got involved and held onto a skier at the third attempt. Jason Holder held his nerve in the last over to close out a memorable 17–run win and extend their lead at the top of the Hero CPL.