In a rain-shortened thriller at the Darren Sammy Stadium on Sunday, Barbados Tridents pulled off a nine-run victory over St Lucia Kings to surge straight to the summit of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) standings. The fixture was cut to 18 overs per side due to inclement weather, but that did nothing to dampen the intensity of the contest.
Barbados won the toss and opted to bat first, posting a competitive total of 177 runs for the loss of five wickets. The innings was anchored by Player of the Match Sherfane Rutherford, who delivered a blistering knock of 61 runs off just 31 deliveries, decorated by three boundaries and five towering sixes. Openers Brandon King chipped in with a quickfire 39 from 28 balls, while wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock added a useful 28 runs off only 15 deliveries to accelerate the Tridents’ total late in the innings. For the St Lucia Kings, captain Roston Chase claimed two wickets for 30 runs, and seamer Shadley van Schalkwyk matched his effort with two wickets for just 25 runs.
In response, St Lucia Kings got off to a solid start and stayed on track with the required run rate for much of the chase, but a series of middle-order wickets derailed their progress, finishing on 168 runs for seven wickets. Akeem Auguste led the Kings’ batting with a heroic 63 runs off 34 deliveries, while Chase contributed 34 runs and Matthew Forde remained unbeaten on 24 off 17 balls at the end of the innings. For the Tridents, spinner Gudakesh Motie turned the game with a clinical three-wicket haul for 22 runs, and Afghanistan spin star Mujeeb Ur Rahman supported him with two wickets for 27 runs to seal the win.
The result marks back-to-back wins for Barbados Tridents to open the 2024 CPL campaign, but newly appointed Tridents captain Chris Green refused to get carried away by the early table-topping position. “It certainly wasn’t a polished performance,” Green told reporters post-match. “We’ve had two games now go right down to the back end, and particularly with the ball being ahead of the game for a long period of time, we’ve let the opposition back in. But there’s also been some good batting. I thought the left-hander (Auguste) batted really well and took them to a position at the back end where they could be dangerous. That said, our senior batters – King, de Kock and Rutherford – are in tremendous form, so hopefully they can keep going.”
Green added that the camp’s strong team culture has been key to their fast start, saying: “I think the results obviously help, but regardless of winning or losing, I feel like we’re a close-knit group. Even last year when I came in late, the group was really tight together, and I feel like that’s a credit to the management and all the players that keep their emotions in check, knowing that the game can swing either way. We’ve had a great start to this tournament, winning two from two on the road. We know it’s gonna get harder as the tournament progresses, but as we get back to Barbados, hopefully we can play our best cricket towards the back end. It’s too early to get excited about being top of the table.”
For St Lucia Kings captain Roston Chase, his side fell just short in a tight contest, attributing the loss to conceding too many runs in the first innings before a mid-innings collapse in the chase. “Well, I thought we initially gave them 10 to 15 runs too much,” Chase explained. “But having said that, I thought that when we went out to bat we started well and were on target, but then we lost our way a bit and we didn’t get there in the end.”
Chase also extended his gratitude to the home crowd that turned out in large numbers to support the side at the Darren Sammy Stadium. “Yeah, the fans have been great for us. I want them to continue coming out and supporting us. We love to see the fans in the stands in blue, and it gives us energy. It gives us that passion to go out there and try to do our best. I just want them to keep coming out and supporting us.”