It was the sixth over of the innings, where the skipper of the Falcons, Chris Green , weaved his magic. He picked up two consecutive wickets in this over on the fourth and fifth delivery. It was the wickets of Faf du Plessis and Roston Chase which hurt the Kings badly. On the fourth delivery, Chris Green bowled a slightly shortish delivery, and Faf du Plessis tried to slash over the off side.
Khary Pierre was named the Player of the Match for his sensational bowling efforts. Chris Green’s all-round efforts (48 & 4-22) went in vain as St Lucia Kings registered their fourth win of the season, beating Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by 26 runs. After piling on 152 for 8, courtesy David Wiese’s unbeaten 26-ball 43, Kings restricted Falcons to 126 for 8 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.
Pitch and Toss
There’s a breeze bowling from the east and it’s something you go to pay attention to. 62m and 64m square boundaries and 73m is the straight boundary. The issue has been the teams batting first haven’t got enough. In terms of numbers, you got to look at 180-185 and even more and even if you get there, I reckon it’s only going to be about par, states Pommie Mbangwa
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons skipper Chris Green won the toss and chose to field with two changes in the playing XI bringing in Jahmar Hamilton and Kelvin Pitman for Brandon King and Jewel Andrew. St Lucia Kings skipper Faf Du Plessis batting first made one change bringing in Khary Pierre for Matthew Forde.
Chris Green’s 4 wickets restricts St Lucia Kings to 152 for 8 in 20 overs
St Lucia Kings openers Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis got off to a flier by racing to 40 runs within the first five overs of the match. While Charles belted five boundaries in his 20-ball knock of 25, captain Faf launched a six and a boundary in his swift top-order cameo.
Unfortunately for the Kings, they were deprived of their early momentum by Shamar Springer and Antigua & Barbuda Falcons skipper Chris Green. Springer delivered the opening breakthrough for the Falcons by nicking Johnson Charles with a short and wide one. Green removed a well-set Faf du Plessis and number four Roston Chase in the final over of the powerplay as the Kings crashed to 42-3 in the first six overs.
Ackeem Auguste at number three steadied St Lucia Kings’ faltering innings to some extent by scoring 35 runs off 28 balls. He shared 42 runs with Tim Siefert before both were dismissed by Chris Green as the Falcons skipper snagged figures of 4-22 from his four overs.
David Wiese at number seven piled on the newfound momentum for the Kings by smacking one boundary and four huge sixes at the death. The burly Namibian all-rounder cracked 43 unbeaten runs off 26 balls to rush St Lucia Kings to 152-8 from 20 overs. Shamar Springer, who claimed the opening wicket for Falcons, snared two more in his final over to restrict Wiese’s rampage before the Namibian exploded with a 20-run final over against Kelvin Pitman.
Johnson Charles and Faf du Plessis had provided a strong start to Kings with a 40-run stand in the Powerplay, before Green’s double strike had reduced the hosts 42 for 3. Tim Seifert and Akeem Auguste revived the innings briefly through the middle overs, before the duo also fell in quick succession, along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, leaving the top six batters back in the dugout before the death overs.
A couple of strikes by Shamar Springer in the 19th over had left Kings on a shaky ground, but Wiese’s single-handed assault in the final over off Kelvin Pitman powered them to a competitive total. The veteran finisher slammed three sixes: a pull over backward square, a straight slam down the ground and a swipe through deep mid wicket.
Khary Pierre’s 3- wicket haul steered St Lucia Kings to victory despite Chris Green’s all round show
Wiese’s time with the ball however didn’t start out on a similar note, with Kofi James going after him in the first over of the chase. However, Khary Pierre not only sent back the Falcons opener but also dented the visitors early on in the chase.
The tweaker had Sam Billings and Jahamar Hamilton dismissed off successive deliveries at the start of the fourth over to push Falcons firmly on the backfoot. His spell in the powerplay proved decisive in the context of the match as the visitors were left fighting their way back till the end. Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase also chipped in with a wicket each as Falcons were reduced to 28 for 5 in the Powerplay.
Skipper Green was pushed on duty with the bat as well, as he and Springer steadied the chase with a much-needed 60-run stand. However, being forced to be conservative with their shot-making, the required rate jumped significantly through the course of their stay in the middle. Just when it seemed they had found their rhythm and had a few boundaries coming along, Springer was run out in a moment of confusion with his partner.
Nonetheless, Green pressed on the accelerator against Wiese and brought the equation down to 48 runs off the last three overs. Barring a few lusty blows from Roshon Primus, there wasn’t much effectiveness in the assault by the Falcon batters, eventually leaving them way short of the target and with a fourth loss handed in six games.
Chasing 153, the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons lost each of their top five batters inside the opening powerplay itself at the cost of just 28 runs. While left-arm St Lucia Kings spinner Khary Pierre struck thrice in his first couple of overs, Noor Ahmad and Roston Chase accounted for the wickets of Justin Greaves and Imad Wasim respectively.
Shamar Springer and captain Chris Green fought back for the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons by forming 60 runs together off the subsequent nine overs. Springer carved a cautious 24 from his end, while Chris Green belted four boundaries and a six in his top-scoring act of 48 off 37 balls. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Green’s efforts merely managed to reduce their margin of defeat as 126-8 was all they could gather from 20 overs.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Faf Du Plessis the winning skipper said : Really proud of the effort. A lot of spin on the wicket. Could have been a lot better with the bat. Wiese got us in the game. Pierre came in and dominated. He has made a big statement. If you look at the match, the spinners were hard work. We could have pushed them a little. Never judge an innings till both teams have batted. Great way to finish. You could feel the energy in the stadium.
Chris Green the loosing skipper said : Even with the hitting of Wiese, I thought they had par or below par. It typically gets better in the second innings. We had soft dismissals when we lost 5 at the top. They are a good team. At the toss like I said, we haven’t played our best cricket.
Too many dropped chances and too many soft dismissals cost us. Need to fight and stay in the tournament. Everyone is coming here to perform. Element of pride on the line. The situation is simple. We have two games left and need to win both.
Khary Pierre Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : I am really happy. Happy that I could get the team over the line. You have to be a professional and be ready. I just back my ability. The crowd have been amazing, owe this to them. Variations and adaptations were vital. Tried to spin the ball. I think the unit has managed to stick together and played for each other.
The Kings have defended 152. They have done so with aplomb. The Falcons had a below par total to chase down but the top-order imploded in the face of some quality spin. Pierre, Noor and Chase spun a web and the Falcons were trapped in it. Green and Springer conjured up a fifty plus partnership but that was never going to be enough as the pace of the rebuilding act took away some time and balls.
They had too much to do in the end and their hitters – Allen and Primus – had too little time to script something miraculous. The Kings taking a lap of ground. This was their last league game and they haven’t disappointed. Only the fifth time a team has won batting first in this season and Faf and his men would be proud of their defence.
The Falcons have only two wins from 8 games and have two games left. They can’t afford any more losses and even two wins won’t guarantee them anything. But as their skipper said, there is a lot of pride at stake for their boys. Faf and his boys would take a lot of pride in the way they played today. They are second on the table now. 152 was never going to be easy to defend but the early strikes made sure that the Falcons were behind in the chase from the very onset.
St Lucia Kings clattered Antigua & Barbuda Falcons to claim a huge win in match number 17 of the CPL 2024 season at the Daren Sammy National Stadium. The outcome catapulted the Kings to number two on the CPL 2024 points table, having accumulated eight points courtesy of four wins from six games.