CPL 2023: How did the international players fare in St Lucia Kings vs Barbados Royals, Match 16?
The 16th fixture of the 2023 CPL edition kicked off between St Lucia Kings and Barbados Royals on September 3. On this day, the crowd became witness to one of the most spectacular comebacks made by Barbados Royals after getting blown away by the Knight Riders in their previous fixture.
Earlier in the day, St Lucia Kings made a strong start with the bat with the openers going ballistic during the powerplay overs. Colin Munro (33 off 27) and Johnson Charles (78 off 52) provided an ideal platform for the Kings to post a competitive total.
They did lose their way in the middle as Jason Holder and Roelef Van Der Werwe pulled things back for the Royals with quick wickets during the middle stage. However, Sikandar Raza and Roshon Primas played some delightful cameos at the end to give St Lucia Kings a strong finish.
During the chase, the home side got off to a shocking start as they lost Mayers for a golden duck. Rahkeem Cornwall, Alick Athanaze, and Laurie Evans followed suit as they were dismissed cheaply in quick succession. The Royals kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually lost their way in pursuit of a stiff target of 196.
Alzarri Joseph and Peter Hatzoglou were the pick of the bowlers who shared five wickets between them at just over 2 RPO to skittle the Royals cheaply for just 105.
As this fixture officially comes to an end, let’s take a quick glance to find out how our international stars fared in today’s game.
Colin Munro (SLK)
The opening combination of Munro and Charles gave St Lucia Kings a perfect platform to launch themselves to a big score. Munro played a lovely hand by scoring 33 of 27 coming at a decent strike rate of 122.2. He smashed 5 boundaries in his entire innings before succumbing to Van der Merwe during the last ball of the 10th over.
Johnson Charles (SLK)
Johnson Charles played a brutal knock of 78 off 52 which virtually flatted the Barbados Royals bowling attack. He hit 6 fours and 5 sixes and was never hesitant to go for the big shots. His entertaining knock came to a close when Jason Holder dismissed him during the 16th over of the first innings. He was later adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning knock that took his side to a landslide victory.
Sean Williams (SLK)
The Zimbabwean all-rounder did not have a great outing with the bat and perished for a paltry score of 5(4) which included just 1 four. He fell to Van der Merwe during the 12th over of the first innings after failing to clear the backward point fielder.
Sikandar Raza (SLK)
Raza played a short-lived but impactful cameo of 18(8) which came at a strike rate of 225. He smashed two sixes in his innings to take the Kings to an imposing total of 195. With the ball in hand, He bowled three overs for 21 runs and picked up a key wicket of Van der Merwe during the 17th over.
Roston Chase (SLK)
Chase played a very small part with the bat and the ball in the grand scheme of things. He scored an unbeaten 11 (5) which included two boundaries. With the ball, he only bowled a solitary over which cost him four runs, and returned wicketless.
Khary Pierre (SLK)
Pierre bowled a slightly expensive spell with the ball conceding at over 9 RPO. In his three overs, he gave away 28 runs most of which came in the form of three sixes. However, he managed to register one scalp to his name.
Alzarri Joseph (SLK)
Alzarri bowled a delightful spell with the ball and almost won the game singlehandedly for the St Lucia Kings. He picked up three important wickets of Cornwall, Evans, and McCoy against the run of play which completely obliterated the Royals’ batting lineup. He finished with impressive figures of 3/7 in 2.3 overs and conceded just one boundary.
Rahkeem Cornwall (BR)
Cornwall tried to take the bowling on and had some momentary success while doing so. However, he was not as fortunate as his stay came to a close when he was batting at 18. He scored at a strike rate of 128.57 and hit a four and two sixes in his innings.
Kyle Mayers (BR)
Mayers had a horrible day with the bat and the ball. He struggled with the ball during the first innings and conceded 30 runs in his three overs while finishing wicketless. Besides, he failed to open his account with the bat as he perished for a golden duck against Matthew Forde in the first over of the second innings.
Alick Athanaze (BR)
Alick Athanaze was slow to get going with the bat and consumed too many dots to get to his 4. He fell for just 4 (11) against Roshon Primus who dismissed him during the second last ball of the powerplay.
Jason Holder (BR)
Jason Holder was expensive with the ball and finished with figures of 2/40 in his allotted 4 overs. He bowled nine dots and conceded four fours and two sixes in his entire spell. During the second innings, he emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for the Royals notching up 18 (11) before perishing to Peter Hatzoglou during the 12th over of the second innings.
Rovman Powell (BR)
Rovamn Powell tried to use his long levers to accelerate the scoring rate for his team but failed miserably. He could only scavenge 5 (6) and was eventually dismissed by Roshon Primus during the 6th over of the second innings.
Roelof van der Merwe (BR)
Roelof bowled an expensive spell with the ball going at 10 RPO but did manage to acquire three scalps to his name. He got the prize wickets of Colin Munro, Sean Williams, and Roshon Primus. With the bat, he scored a run-a-ball 11 which featured just one solitary boundary.
Qais Ahmad (BR)
Qais bowled 2 tidy overs and conceded just 15 runs in his two overs. He finished wicketless but conceded only a six in his short spell. He scored an unbeaten 9(4) in the end and managed to clear the ropes on one occasion.
Obed McCoy (BR)
Obed went the journey as his three overs cost him 37 runs. He leaked runs at over 12 RPO which included two fours and three sixes. However, he was able to bag a prize wicket of Sikandar Raza during the 18th over of the first innings.
Note: Regional (uncapped) players from West Indies have not been featured in the article