ROYALS WIN TO STAY IN HUNT
Game 24 of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) saw Barbados Royals chalk up their first win of the tournament by defeating top of the table Saint Lucia Kings by 27 runs.
The victory sees the Royals keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive and after being starved of victory the home fans greeted the result with much enthusiasm, not least as one of the strongest sides in the tournament had been toppled with a comprehensive all-round performance.
Kings captain David Wiese won the toss in Bridgetown and elected to field first but the Royals piled on the runs to make a formidable total of 191/5 off their 20 overs. Quinton de Kock fell early for just one run but after that a much improved team batting performance from the Royals saw the rest of the batting card all make double figures.
Brandon King made 42 off 21 balls from the top of the order and captain Rovman Powell bookended the innings with the next biggest score – 41 off just 17 deliveries.
After winning five matches in this year’s CPL and falling to defeat only to Trinbago Knight Riders earlier in the competition, Wiese’s men would have been confident of hauling in the Royals total.
Regular wickets proved their undoing, Tim David looked to play an anchoring role but he was caught behind off Daniel Sams, the Australian left-armer impressing with 3/31 off his four overs, including the Kings’ engine room of Aaron Jones and Delano Potgieter.
Fellow left armer Ramon Simmonds also impressed with 3/28 as the Kings struggled to keep up with the required rate as the wickets fell. Chris Green was named player of the match as he backed up his 25 not out with the bat with 2/11 with the ball to cap off a fine performance.
Down but crucially not out, the Barbados Royals are up and running with a win on the board.
MATCH PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE HERE AND CAN BE USED FOR EDITORIAL PURPOSES. (CREDIT: CPL VIA GETTY IMAGES)
POST MATCH INTERVIEWS FROM THIS GAME CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE. (CREDIT: CPLT20)
