Shamar Springer all-round performance makes his team hope alive for the playoffs as Jamaica Tallawahs (JT) defeated St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) by 59 runs.
Jamaica scored 178/7 in 20 overs and in reply Patriots only put 119/10 in 17.3 overs on the board.
JT lost their last match against Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wickets by a superb performance of Saim Ayub. whereas SKNP broke their losing streak in their last match against St Lucia Kings by the help of Fletcher’s innings.
Jamaica won the toss and opted to bat first.
A very bad start to the Tallawahs as they lost 5 wickets in just 65 runs. Their skipper Brandon King (7 runs) who started pretty well in the tournament lost his touch in the second half of the tournament and got out cheaply. Then Raymon Reifer (28 runs) and Shamar Springer (38 runs) held the momentum of wicket fall for the team. These two risks out the danger from the team.
In the death overs Fabien Allen (33 runs) showed no mercy to the bowlers and started hitting the balls out of the stadium. He hit 3 fours and 2 sixes and took 18 balls to reach there. Therefore in the end they scored 178 runs in 20 overs by losing 7 wickets.
Ashmead Nedd and George Linde took 2 wickets each. Yannic Cariah and Oshane Thomas got 1 wicket each.
Patriots again showed their sloppy batting performance and they were unable to maintain a good partnership. Wickets were falling in one end and on the other end Yannic Cariah (65 runs) tried to hold. But he didn’t get any better support to reach the final destination. In his innings he hit 8 fours.
Remaining batters unable to stick to the pitch and go one after another. Therefore in the end they only managed 119 runs in 17.3 overs and lost all their wickets. Ashmead Nedd didn’t come for batting as he was injured during the match.
Mohammad Amir showed a great class of line and length due to which he picked 4 wickets and gave only 19 runs in 3.3 overs. Another Pakistani player Imad Wasim also showed his brilliant spell and got 3 wickets. Shamar Springer and Chris Green both get 1 wicket each.
This win definitely helped Tallawahs to make their chances alive for the playoffs. They are now having 7 points in 9 matches and are present at 4th spot. On the other hand Patriots have 4 points in 10 matches and they are in the bottom of the points table.
Shamar Springer, JT, Player of the Match
“I knew I wasn’t going to start the tournament but kept myself ready. I always kept mentally strong and the hard work has paid off. When I went in to bat, my mindset wasn’t to slow down the tempo, but to get set. It’s a low scoring ground. I am ready for tomorrow’s game. I’ll take a massage, get into the pool.”
Evin Lewis, SKNP Captain
“Looking forward to next year, I couldn’t come out on top in this one. We had a good start in the first 10, but the last 10 overs were pretty tough for our bowlers. With extra pace, I backed Oshane. It was a fantastic innings, we gave Cariah a promotion after losing two early wickets. Anyway, it’s done and dusted, nothing much can be done about it.”
Brandon King, JT Captain
“The bowling has been good in general, but today it was outstanding. Reifer and Allen are two very positive guys for us. That’s been their role, they have been finishing well. Springer has been incredible. He is a good person, also shows the hard work he puts in his practice. We will try and win tomorrow’s game, not leaving anything on other results. Our destiny is in our hands.”