Zouks off the mark after triumphant win in the rain-curtailed match
St. Lucia Zouks are off the mark in the 2020 Hero Carib
bean Premier League after a thumping win over champions Barbados Tridents in a rain curtailed match. Part-time spinners Mohammad Nabi, Roston Chase and Mark Deyal starred for the Zouks with the ball, keeping the Tridents in check to help the batsmen get a comfortable seven wicket victory in a truncated five-over chase.
Opting to bat first, the Tridents got off to a flyer as they got to 23 after just two overs. Left arm pacer Obed McCoy missed his length a few times early on, and Johnson Charles made the most of it getting two fours and a six. Charles continued the aggression with a four and a six off Scott Kuggeleijn’s first over but was sent packing by the Kiwi bowler the very next ball.
Kuggeleijn struck again in his second over, a slightly fortuitous dismissal coming off a full toss which his countryman Corey Anderson hit straight at short cover. Two quick wickets helped arrest the scoring rate, as the Zouks conceded just 15 runs in the three subsequent overs. Shai Hope tried to take on Mohammad Nabi to accelerate the scoring, but only managed to find Mark Deyal in the deep.
Captain Jason Holder walked into bat at number five, and signalled his intent almost immediately, targeting the short boundary on the leg side to pummel two sixes and a four. The Tridents skipper however couldn’t inflict further damage as a slowish delivery from Kesrick Williams managed to get the toe end of his bat and found the fielder in the deep.
Holder’s wicket triggered a mini collapse as Jonathan Carter and Kyle Mayers were dismissed off successive deliveries from Roston Chase. Seeing the track favouring turn, Zouks captain Daren Sammy brought on another part-time spinner Mark Deyal into the attack, and that proved to be an inspired bowling change as Raymon Reifer was out caught behind.
The part-timers provided a good stranglehold on the Tridents’ scoring rate, as only 27 runs were added to the scoreboard in the five overs post Holder’s wicket. The champions were 131/7 after 18.1 overs when rain disrupted play for the better part of two hours, resulting in the game being reduced to a five over chase for the Zouks.
Needing 47 to win, openers Rahkeem Cornwall had full license to go ballistic from the get-go, and the big man duly obliged, getting 13 off the first over. Seasoned Afghani spinner Rashid Khan delivered the perfect follow-up over for his team, conceding just seven and also sent Cornwall back to the hut.
New man Najibullah Zadran’s also fell quickly, out caught at square leg after scoring a solitary boundary. Nabi walked in to bat next, and shrewdly shifted the strike with quick doubles and singles to leave the Zouks needing 18 runs off the last two overs. The 35-year-old then got a massive six and followed that up with a boundary to put Daren Sammy’s side within touching distance of their first win of CPL 2020.
Nabi tried to finish things off in a hurry, trying another pull on the leg side, but ended up being caught in the deep by Carter. The damage was already done though, as veteran opener Andre Fletcher finished off things for the Zouks in the next over, to get them off and running in the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
Brief Scorecard
Barbados Tridents: 131/7, 18.1 overs (Jason Holder 27, Roston Chase 2/8)
lost to
St. Lucia Zouks: 50/3, 4.1 overs (Andre Fletcher 16, Rashid Khan 2/24) (DLS Method)
About St Lucia Zouks
St Lucia Zouks is the representative team of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) of Cricket. Founded in 2013, the team has been competing in the tournament since its inception and is currently owned by KPH Dream Cricket Pvt Ltd – the consortium that owns Kings XI Punjab.
The team is named after St Lucia, one of the four islands in the Caribbean known for its rich creole culture which is represented in its logo. A vibrant mix of blues and yellows, the logo also has a flame symbol that is derived from the national flag, representing a desire to win. In 2016, the team held the record of winning six out of ten games securing the third position in the league. St Lucia Zouks is a popular team among cricket fans around the world.
This year, the team will be coached by Andy Flower and captained by Daren Sammy who is leading the squad for the first time. Players comprise Mohammad Nabi, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Rahkeem Cornwall, Chemar Holder, Javelle Glen, Mark Deyal, Leniko Boucher, Kavem Hodge, Obed McCoy, Kimani Melius, Saad Bin Zafar, Scott Kuggelein, Roston Chase, Najibullah Zadran and Zahir Khan.
