Recalled to the Barbados Royals squad, Rahkeem Cornwall delivered a standout performance with a five-wicket haul, leading his team to a commanding nine-wicket win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval. This victory secured the Royals a place in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) playoffs, solidifying their strong position in the tournament.
Rahkeem Cornwall (5-16) and Quinton de Kock (59* off 38) played pivotal roles as Barbados Royals thumped St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by nine wickets at the Kensington Oval. The result strengthened the hosts’ stay at the top of the table as they booked a place for themselves in the CPL 2024 playoffs, while their opponents were on the brink of elimination.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report: There’s been a lot of rain around and the covers have been on. Talking about the ground dimensions, 69m to my right and over to my left is 60m and down the ground it’s 73m. I like what I see, what a sheen, it’s nice and hard. Spinners have dominated at Kensington Oval over the years but if you get it wrong, you are going to travel. It’s a bit tacky but by and large, it’s a very good surface to bat on, reckons Danny Morrison.
Toss : Barbados Royals (BR) skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and chose to field with Keshav Maharaj being replaced and Nyeem Young and Rahkeem Cornwall back in the playing XI . St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots skipper Andre Fletcher bowling first made three changes to the squad bringing in Ryan John , Odean Smith and Joshua Da Silva.
Rahkeem Cornwall’s 5 wicket burst halts St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to paltry 110 all out
After a delayed start due to a wet pitch, the Royals elected to bowl and it proved the right move. The Patriots struggled in the PowerPlay leading to a frustrated Evin Lewis, a centurion earlier in the tournament, holing out in the fourth over. Skipper Andre Fletcher finally broke the shackles with a targeted assault on Jason Holder before a rush of blood saw him charge down the pitch at Cornwall’s first ball only to miss the shot and be stumped.
Rahkeem Cornwall was recalled after three straight ducks with the bat, but continued to make an immediate impact with the ball after luring Mikyle Louis into a false shot. He couldn’t complete a hat-trick, but soon claimed his third wicket with the scalp of Wanindu Hasaranga as the Patriots crashed to 61/6 at the midpoint.
Rahkeem Cornwall wasn’t nearly done after dismissing Odean Smith then completing his five-wicket haul when Ryan John was brilliantly caught by Alick Athanaze in the deep. The Patriots were in major danger of being dismissed for a total under 100, but Joshua da Silva and Anrich Nortje joined forces in a 39-run ninth partnership – the best of the innings – to avoid that ignominy.
Rahkeem Cornwall’s spell in the middle overs ensured a massive implosion for the Patriots who slipped from 38/2 to 69/8 in the space of just 48 deliveries. This was after Andre Fletcher (32 off 22) had gotten the visitors off to a decent start in the PowerPlay with some counterattacking cricket. However, once the Royals took pace off the ball, they wreaked havoc with Naveen-ul-Haq (3-21) also having a field day.
It took a gritty 39-run stand for the ninth wicket between Joshua Da Silva (25 off 29) and Anrich Nortje (22 off 17) to get the Patriots’ total past three figures but they were also going to end with a total that was well below par. Enjoying the spin-friendly surface, Cornwall claimed 5/16 as the Patriots batting order lost 7/31 and were bowled out for 110 in the last over to fall well short of a competitive total.
Rahkeem Cornwall’s spell was special because he tempted the batters, even the right-handers by tossing them and deceptively getting the ball to dip. This along with the extra bounce from his tall frame meant that the batters often miscued their strokes to perish. The collapse meant a cakewalk run chase for the Royals and de Kock once again came to the party with another fifty-plus score.
Quinton De Kock’s half century guides Barbados Royals to playoffs
Unlike the previous game, the South African raced away in the Powerplay this time with his trademark cuts and pick-up strokes. He also found able support from young Kadeem Alleyne (25 off 14) who once again looked good in his stay at the crease.
It took the magic of Wanindu Hasaranga to break the opening stand but that was a mere consolation for the Patriots as Alick Athanaze (22* off 15) then joined de Kock to hasten the end of the game. The duo got the job done with ease, aided by some listless bowling and heavy dew which made a mockery of an already paltry total.
In-form opener Quinton de Kock (59 not out off 38 balls) was unstoppable as the Royals mowed down the target in the 12th over. The Patriots were unable to take early wickets as de Kock and Kadeem Alleyne made it look easy with an opening stand of 57 in the powerplay. After smashing a ton against Guyana Amazon Warriors, de Kock continued his rich form with sublime shots around the wicket.
He capitalized after being given out lbw to Kyle Mayers in the fifth over only for the decision to be overturned on review. The Patriots finally ended the stand when Alleyne on 25 was hit on the pads by Hasaranga, who surprisingly had been held back until the sixth over. But de Kock rolled past another half-century as the Royals emphatically booked a playoff berth.
Presentations and Road Ahead
SKNP Losing skipper Andre Fletcher said : “Honestly there’s no emotion. The way things have bene since the start of the tournament, we were hoping for things to get better, but unfortunately things have just been getting worse. We have to find a way to win. When you keep losing it is quite difficult, but you have to find the inner motivation as a player. We do go through bad patches but how to get out of it is a challenge. I have to do some soul searching, all the players have to do.”
BR Winning skipper Rovman Powell said : “It’s a very good home leg. Three wins out of four at home, we’ll definitely take that. Crowd fantastic and we’ve played some good cricket. We came here with some form. We played some good cricket in all four games. We’re right up there with the better teams of the competition. (Cornwall today…) I think his primary role is to bat to be honest.
When things like this happen, it shocks not just us but also our opponent. It’s good for him to give a five-star performance. (Crowd…) The crowd has been fantastic. My second year for the franchise and playing in Barbados as a home ground. When you come home, you want to feel like you’re home, and they gave us that feeling. Credits also to our boys.”
Rahkeem Cornwall is the Player of the Match for his 5/16 said : “It was a good performance. I just backed myself and put the ball in the right areas. (Favorite wicket) Not really, enjoyed all five. You don’t get five wickets everyday. I backed myself and the team backed me too. (Team playing well..) I think we have a good unit and we are going with the momentum. (Crowd favorite…) Thanks for the support for the past four games. We gave them something to cheer about.”
Smiles in the Royals camp as they continue their dominance at the top while the Patriots pick up their seventh straight loss. They were so poor with the bat that they lost 7 wickets for 31 runs to completely lose their way on what was actually a good batting wicket. Rahkeem Cornwall was the wrecker-in-chief picking up 5 wickets in that collapse. The Royals took 17 balls to get their first boundary in the chase but they quickly changed gears – Quinton De Kock led from the front with a fifty – to cruise home.
Five wins out of six matches, and Rovman Powell’s Barbados Royals storm into playoffs! A complete performance this, they won an important toss after rain delayed the start. The bowlers were on the mark right from the Powerplay with Naveen-ul-Haq bagging two wickets in that phase and then Cornwall came in and completely demolished Patriots.
They lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for just 110 which was chased down with ease in the 12th over by Royals with Quinton de Kock scoring unbeaten 59 to cap-off another strong performance. The Royals (5-1) cemented their spot at the top of the CPL ladder, while the Patriots’ (1-7) bid for a playoffs berth is all but over.