The Cricketer looks at the stand-out performances, the moments to forget and the unusual events of week one of the Caribbean Premier League
Mayers makes a move
Kyle Mayers has been the star of the opening week of the CPL, leading Barbados Royals to the top of the table.
Against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, he struck 73 as Royals chased down 150 to win with 11 balls to spare, hitting six fours and a quartet of maximums.
But it was against St Lucia Kings that the 27-year-old enhanced his reputation as a T20 allrounder with a quick-fire 36 and 4 for 4 with the ball.
Kings needed 103 in nine overs but were reduced to 7 for 4 in 17 balls when Mayers dismissed opener Johnson Charles, and then added Mark Deyal, Roston Chase and Roshon Primus to cap a remarkable individual display.
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Bosch cooks up a storm
The South African set a new record during the opening week of the 10th CPL, taking five catches in victory over the Patriots, who were otherwise disappointing in the field.
He contributed to the dismissal of Darren Bravo with a catch at long-on off Jason Holder, before a caught and bowled off Sherfane Rutherford.
The Holder-Bosch axis combined again to see off Dewald Brevis and the prized wicket of Andre Fletcher followed in the next over.
His haul was complete when Dwayne Bravo miss-timed a slower ball and heaved it skywards, with Bosch nestling underneath to take a simple grab.
"I was just in the right place at the right time and was fortunate to contribute to the team," said the player of the match. "I just want to contribute more to the team and I think we have a fantastic team and moving on I hope we get better."
Corbin Bosch. pic.twitter.com/ujxk8FZHLQ
— Barbados Royals (@BarbadosRoyals) August 26, 2022
Shamsi and Tahir phone it in
We got the first outing of Shamsi's 'shoe-phone' celebration in Guyana Amazon Warriors' victory over Jamaica Tallawahs.
Imad Wasim was caught by Shai Hope, going hard as a ball outside off-stump, which he could only sky into the air, leaving Tallawahs 93 for 5 in the chase.
Hope had barely got his hands around the ball before the spinner had his shoe off.
And in a nice moment of synergy, Imran Tahir answered the call on the boundary, removing his boot and cupping it to his ear.
It was the highlight on an otherwise disappointing day for the Warriors, who went down by four wickets as Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith went the distance.
Shamsi dials it in again!!! Shamsi gets the big wicket of Imad Wasim and celebrates in style as the @fun88eng magic moment of the match.#CPL22 #JTvGAW #CricketPlayedLouder #Fun88 #BiggestPartyInSport pic.twitter.com/6brv82sSat
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 3, 2022
Rain, rain go away
Only in October does the Caribbean receive more rain than in the month of September.
This is the second latest starting CPL. In 2019 we got underway on September 4 and only one match was lost to rain and just a single game was decided by DLS.
The weather gods have not been as kind in 2022. The opening week has seen two matches called off without a ball being bowled, and a pair have had overs cut.
All this after the week-long inaugural edition of The 6ixty was unaffected.
While the CPL gets much praise for being a shorter and snappier tournament than many of those on the circuit, there is a sting in the tail.
Losing matches to bad weather in a group stage of just 10 games can have a major knock-on effect. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are already four games down and have only seen the final ball in half those games.
Let's hope things turn around in week two.
Rain has beset the opening week of the CPL (Randy Brooks - CPL T20/Getty Images)
Patriots let it slip
Control the controllables - that is all a head coach can ask for from his chief lieutenants.
But you fancy Simon Helmot will have been tearing his hair out this week, not at being the victim of two washouts, but after seeing his Patriots side spurn chance after chance during their two completed matches.
They allowed four opportunities to pass them by against Jamaica Tallawahs, who made the highest score of the competition of 183 for 2 in the opening game, thanks to some wayward catching.
They even managed to miss two runout chances during that innings too. They gave Evin Lewis three lives on his own before he was dismissed two short of his half-century.
They doubled their tally as Barbados Royals reached their 150 target with 11 balls to spare in a rain-reduced chase. This time they gave Kyle Mayers several bites at the cherry before he was eventually out on 73.
Tabraiz Shamsi (Randy Brooks - CPL T20/Getty Images)
Achillies Akeal
Sometimes, you've got to go with a pun regardless of whether it works or not.
For those concerned that Akeal Hosein has been struck down on the eve of the men's T20 World Cup, fear not.
The left-arm spinner took 4 for 13, his best figures in the T20 format, to help beat St Lucia Kings.
But he limped off after falling in the outfield and is resting up. He missed the rained-off game against the Patriots and there is a degree of uncertainty over his fitness going forward.
West Indies will announce their World Cup squad mid-way through the competition, so there is still plenty of time to prove his fitness.
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