JACK BUTLER & NICK FRIEND take a look at some of the standout themes from the third day of action in the Caribbean Premier League at the Brian Lara Academy in Trinidad...
Worldwide, fewer sides are winning the toss and opting to bat in T20 cricket. Given what we now know of batsmen’s capabilities, it just makes less sense. Everything is chaseable – or, at least that is the theory.
And so, Jason Holder was already gambling in electing to set a target even without an inclement forecast. But given the weather, this was a blunder – the kind that ultimately cost Barbados Tridents the points in their clash with St Lucia Zouks.
Only Holder himself and Johnson Charles found any sort of momentum in their innings, with Barbados making just 131 for 7 from their 18.1 overs before a mammoth downpour came.
Kyle Mayers used up 24 deliveries for his 16, while Shai Hope ticked along at just better than a run a ball.
As a team, they only managed to hit nine fours and four sixes as St Lucia, led by the wily off-spin of Mohammad Nabi and Roston Chase, prevented Holder’s side from ever properly cutting loose.
Once again, the use of Rashid Khan with the bat seemed to defy any reasonable logic. The Afghan leg-spinner never even came to the crease, despite his famed ability to score his runs at a remarkable rate. Mitch Santner, meanwhile, was in the middle for 22 deliveries, but scratched around for eight off 11 balls.
Holder’s generosity at the toss, coupled with a stormy delay, meant that Darren Sammy’s side would need just 50 in five overs to get their first win of the campaign on the board. And once Holder’s first over went for 13, they were well on their way.
Rashid dismissed both Rahkeem Cornwall and Nabi, but between the pair they had contributed 29 in just 14 balls, with Andre Fletcher finishing the job with five balls to spare.
Trinbago were impressive in their win over Jamaica Tallawahs
It might not ultimately have made a difference, so streetwise were Trinbago Knight Riders in their win over Jamaica Tallawahs. But the decision to send in Carlos Brathwaite ahead of Andre Russell seemed a curious, illogical move.
Russell, after all, carries some significant weight in the argument around T20 cricket’s greatest-ever player. He might not top the poll, but he might not be far off. He is a bona fide game-changer, the kind to put opposition sides on the back foot merely through his presence.
And while much of his best work has come in finishing off innings, he would surely have been better equipped than Brathwaite to deal with the rebuilding job that was needed at 58 for 4.
Instead, Brathwaite – who spent the first part of his summer as part of Test Match Special’s commentary team in England – dropped anchor. He made one in nine deliveries, before being dismissed by Fawad Ahmed.
It was a forgettable, avoidable episode. It also meant that when Russell came to the crease at 63 for 5 after 10 overs, there was even more rebuilding to do and even more pressure sat on the Tallawahs’ star player.
Against all expectation, therefore, Russell has batted twice in this year’s Caribbean Premier League so far and in neither innings has scored his runs at quicker than a run a ball. Even more surprisingly, he is still waiting for his first six from the 43 deliveries he has faced.
By way of comparison, in the last three years coming into this tournament, he has struck a six every 5.4 balls in all T20 cricket.
Given the state of the outfield after the rain at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, it was some effort to get a second game up and running on time.
At one stage, it looked as though the weather might come out on top...
After hitting a fifty and taking two wickets last time out against Guyana Amazon Warriors, Sunil Narine again dominated with both bat and ball.
On Thursday, the Jamaica Tallawahs batsmen struggled to pick the off-spinner’s mystery spin as a frustrated Asif Ali was eventually bowled - Narine eventually finishing with figures from his four overs of 1 for 19.
He then hit a quick fifty off just 38 balls – the pick of his nine boundaries a towering six hit over cover. Currently, Narine’s CPL strike rate this year is just under 160. Brutal.
Speaking after the game, Nurine spoke positively about the way he and Trinbago have started this year's tournament. “Winning back-back games is good,” he said. “It shows how eager we are [to improve from last year].”
Elsewhere, it was a debut for Jayden Seales that had everyone talking. The fast bowler, who burst onto the scene with some fine spells at the Under-19 World Cup, made his Trinbago debut, returning figures of 2 for 21.
Incredibly, Seales had to wait just one ball for his first CPL wicket – a delivery just back of a length that came back in late, trapping Nicholas Kirton lbw. It was sort of the delivery that further evidenced his significant potential.
Speaking after the game, Seales’ captain, Kieron Pollard, praised the young seamer, saying “Sometimes, in the heat of the moment you have to show a bit of fire…he [Seales] has the mental capacity to take that sort of pressure.”
The Cricketer's coverage of the CPL comes in collaboration with the Caribbean Cricket Podcast
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