The Cricketer looks at the standout performances, the moments to forget and the unusual events from week two of the Caribbean Premier League
GOOD WEEK
Barbados Royals maintain unbeaten run
Halfway through the group stages and the CPL table makes for interesting reading. Three teams – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Trinbago Knight Riders – have picked up just one win, St Lucia Kings and Jamaica Tallawahs have struggled for consistency, and the rain just won't stay away from the Patriots.
However, at the top of the standings sit Barbados Royals, with five wins from five matches, a four-point cushion over second place and seven points clear of fifth place.
It hasn't quite been plain sailing for the Royals. Last time out against Jamaica Tallawahs, they completed their chase of 157 with just one ball to spare and needed some late fireworks from captain David Miller (17 off 8) to get over the line.
But here they sit, unbeaten and cruising into the last four – quite the turnaround from last year's wooden spoon.
You can purchase and own the David Miller NFT player card via Rario player packs
Barbados Royals have been unstoppable in the first half of the tournament [CPL/Getty Images]
South Africans sparkle
It's been a good week to be a South African overseas player.
Barbados Royals skipper David Miller has been in hot form with the bat, smashing 60 runs off 36 balls against TKR and adding middle-order knocks of 29 not out (18) and 17 not out (8) against St Lucia Kings and Jamaica Tallawahs, respectively.
His teammate, Corbin Bosch, has also enjoyed himself in Gros Islet, scoring a match-winning 81 off 50 against St Lucia Kings.
Elsewhere, Dwaine Pretorius has performed with bat and ball for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, scoring 27 not out off 12 against Guyana Amazon Warriors – a match-winning knock – and following it up with 3 for 37 against St Lucia Kings.
However, the moment of the week – perhaps even the moment of the tournament – belongs to Dewald Brevis. The 19-year-old hasn't quite fired with the bat, scoring just 42 runs in five outings, but he sent social media admins wild with a no-look six against St Lucia Kings.
No look shot for 6!!! Dewald Brevis hits a big six as this evenings @fun88eng magic moment#CPL22 #SLKvSKNP #CricketPlayedLouder #Fun88 #BiggestPartyInSport pic.twitter.com/TPd6RnexAY
— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 12, 2022
A wicket to remember
It's not been a good tournament for TKR – more on that later – but it has at least been a memorable week for 24-year-old bowler Shaaron Lewis.
In just the second T20 outing of his career, the left-arm pacer picked up his maiden CPL wicket, getting Jamaica Tallawahs wicketkeeper Amir Jangoo caught behind by Tim Seifert for two.
He finished the match with figures of 1 for 12 from two overs. On debut earlier in the tournament, his one over went for eight runs.
Max on the go! Congratulations on your first #CPL wicket ever, Shaaron Lewis 🇹🇹 #WeAreTKR #CPL22 #Debutpic.twitter.com/B3BTY51tiJ
— Tribago Knight Riders (@TKRiders) September 11, 2022
Johnson Charles is a run machine
Johnson Charles' record in the CPL does not scream sign me. Only once since 2016 has he scored more than 250 runs in a season and in 2021, he failed to pass 50 in an innings.
He moved to St Lucia Kings for the 2022 season and made a poor start, scoring just eight runs across two matches in Basseterre.
However, in front of a home crowd at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (Gros Islet), Charles finally put his stamp back on the CPL.
Across four matches in St Lucia, he score 219 runs, including knocks of 62 against Jamaica Tallawahs and 87 not out against Guyana Amazon Warriors, and now sits top of the overall run-scoring charts with 227 runs at a strike rate of 136.74. Only Kyle Mayers (32) has scored more boundaries than Charles' 30 (17 fours and 13 sixes).
The last of Charles' 34 T20I caps came in September 2016 and while it's perhaps premature to start chanting for his recall, a 200-plus run week is not to be sniffed at.
You can purchase and own the Johnson Charles NFT player card via Rario player packs
BAD WEEK
Shimron Hetmyer has a captaincy nightmare
Sometimes as captain, there are moments when you just want the ground to open up and swallow you whole, and that's pretty much what happened to Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
He scored 46 runs off 21 balls to help his side to 162 for 6 and heading in the final over of the second innings, they were well on course to pick up two points. The Patriots needed 22 runs off six balls to win.
He chucked the ball to Odean Smith, who had figures of 2 for 10 from his two overs, before changing his mind and turning to Romario Shepherd, himself boasting healthy figures of 2 for 20 (three overs).
The first two balls went well, dispatched for just three runs, but Shepherd is notoriously expensive at the death and his third delivery – a low full toss – was nailed over cover for six by Pretorius. The South African treated the next delivery with similar disdain before sending a no-ball to the wide long-on boundary for another six runs.
Game, set, match Patriots with two balls to spare.
Shepherd finished with figures of 2 for 42 but Hetmyer insisted he'd do the same again, commenting: "We back ourselves every time and it doesn't come off some time. Romario was in the plan to bowl but it didn't go our way."
You can purchase and own the Shimron Hetmyer NFT player card via Rario player packs
Runs have not been easy to come by TKR [CPL/Getty Images]
No runs for TKR
When you glance down the Trinbago Knight Riders roster, runs don't leap out as a problem area.
Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran, Tim Seifert, Colin Munro – even just a handful of those names would present an imposing challenge to most batting line-ups.
However, this group combined have mustered just 184 runs, with a top score of 34 – scored by Seifert against St Lucia Kings in their tournament opener. For context, three individual players – Johnson Charles (227), Kyle Mayers (206) and Rovman Powell (200) – have scored more runs on their own than TKR's star-studded sextet.
It's not quite last chance saloon for the four-time champions – after all, they're only three points behind second place at present – but with only one win from their four matches and a net run rate of -2.178, it's not looking good. They'll be hoping for an upturn in fortunes now the tournament has relocated to Trinidad.
Patriots title defence continues to falter
The good news is St Kitts & Nevis Patriots have finally got a win on the board, beating Guyana Amazon Warriors by four wickets with two balls remaining.
The bad news is normal service resumed three days later, with St Lucia Kings inflicting a 61-run defeat on the defending champions.
As with TKR, St Kitts should not be at panic stations as they still have four matches remaining. But with Andre Fletcher (153 runs) and Sherfane Rutherford (57 runs) the only players to score more than 50 runs with the bat and no bowler picking up more than four wickets, it continues to be a disappointing season for the Patriots.
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