Saint Lucia Kings triumphs over Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by 26 runs

The Saint Lucia Kings emerged victorious with a 26-run win over the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons on September 16, 2024, at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet.

It was the 17th T20 match of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with both teams showing their fineness.

Antigua and Barbuda Falcons decided to bowl with a win at the toss, setting an initial challenge for the Kings. Batting first, the Saint Lucia Kings made a decent score of 152 for 8 in their 20 overs.

Despite a few dismissals, good support from David Wiese, batting 43 runs off 26 balls with 1 four and 4 sixes, and Ackeem Auguste who scored 35 runs off 28 balls, assisted in pushing the total for the Kings to a testy score.

Other notable scorers were Johnson Charles with 25 runs and Tim Seifert with 13 runs. The batting was a bit aggressive at times, but as a whole, it was very steady for Kings. The middle order was not very good to put up that big total.

As a reply, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons was not sufficient, who scored 126 for 8 in their half of 20 overs, but Chris Green was among the major run-getters with an individual top score of 48 runs off 37 balls with 4 fours and 1 six.

Early and crucial wickets undermined Falcons’ chase with individual effort, as Kofi James added 11 runs, and Roshon Primus remained unbeaten on 17 runs, but the target proved too steep.

Disciplined bowling by the Kings, in particular from Khary Pierre, ensured the Player of the Match award for him with fantastic figures of 3 wickets for 24 runs in 4 overs, and Noor Ahmad with 2 wickets for 13 runs.

“It was a complete team effort today,” said captain of Saint Lucia Kings, Daren Sammy, praising his team’s efforts. “We set a challenging total, and the bowlers did their plans very well. Khary Pierre’s spell was excellent, and it was great to see everyone contributing,” he added.

On the other hand, Falcons’ skipper Chris Green was candid in admitting the challenge when he said, “Saint Lucia played well and we just lost, underperforming at the crucial moments. We need regrouping and find out what we did wrong before the next match.”

This win takes the Saint Lucia Kings into a better line up of CPL rank and records. But that was an important victory that will help them prepare for the other matches they are in the schedule.

However, the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons have to develop their strategy and performance to possibly secure win in their upcoming games.

In the next match, the Saint Lucia Kings will play against the Trinbago Knight Riders on 18 September 2024; and the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons will play against the Guyana Amazon Warriors the very next day on 19 September 2024.

The match in discussion, was exciting and ended up teaching the depth of strategy and the competitiveness of the CPL and also, possibly hinting at even more thrilling cricket in the future.