CPL TEAM OF THE WEEK: Who joins Andre Russell and Mohammad Amir?

The Cricketer identifies the standout displays from the opening week in the Caribbean Premier League

Evin Lewis (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)

The opening batsman was one of few players to emerge with much credit last year when St Kitts and Nevis Patriots performed so poorly.

In a better side this time around, the left-hander has flourished once again: tasked with chasing 147 against Guyana Amazon Warriors’ wily bowling attack, he did so at a canter, smashing 62 off 39 balls as he dominated a 113-run opening partnership. Only his teammate, Sherfane Rutherford, has hit more sixes in the tournament.

Devon Thomas (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)

Thomas kept wicket in Patriots’ opener and has since relinquished the gloves to Joshua da Silva after Chris Gayle’s toe injury provided an opportunity for West Indies’ new Test wicketkeeper.

Thomas, though, has ploughed on at the top of the order, playing the anchor role in making an unbeaten half century against Guyana in partnership with Lewis, before making 31 when the sides met again two days later. Only five players in the competition have scored more runs than the 31-year-old.

Shimron Hetmyer (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

The biggest problem so far for Guyana Amazon Warriors’ batting has been how to best utilise their talent: in their defeat on Sunday, Shimron Hetmyer batted at No.3, Nicholas Pooran at No.4 and Brandon King at No.5.

It meant that Mohammed Hafeez opened up, carrying his bat for 70 – at a scoring rate that ultimately cost his side the game. Hetmyer is one of only two players in the tournament to have passed fifty twice, one of which was a match-defining knock against Trinbago Knight Riders.

^{Andre Russell broke records in his 14-ball half century against St Lucia Kings}

Tim David (St Lucia Kings)

What a summer it has been for Tim David, the Singapore international who until a couple of months ago was fairly unknown to many in the game. Since joining Surrey on a short-term deal, however, he has taken the white-ball game by storm, hitting three hundreds in the Royal London Cup and showing such form that Southern Brave called him up to replace Colin de Grandhomme for the final of The Hundred, where he consequently ran out Liam Livingstone with a direct hit from the boundary.

After this stint with St Lucia Kings, he will jet off to India to represent Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has begun this tournament as he finished the last, with 99 runs in two innings and 60 balls at an average of 49.5 and a strike rate of 165.

Sherfane Rutherford (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots)

Everyone knew there was a better cricketer inside Sherfane Rutherford than the version that struggled so badly for Guyana Amazon Warriors last year, where he managed 39 runs in seven games.

Sometimes, a fresh start is all it takes: the 23-year-old is the leading run-scorer so far in the tournament for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, having trebled last season’s run-tally already, with a pair of half centuries in three games and more sixes than anyone else in the competition from his position at No.4.

Andre Russell (Jamaica Tallawahs)

Andre Russell broke every record in the book during his takedown of St Lucia Kings: his 14-ball half century was the quickest in CPL history, dragging Jamaica Tallawahs to the second-highest score ever seen in the tournament.

Only once before in T20 cricket has a batsman scored 49 runs in the last two overs of the innings; likewise, on just one prior occasion – and never in a franchise competition – had a player made fifty having come in after 17 overs.

^{Tim David has continued in the CPL from where he left off in England}

Isuru Udana (Trinbago Knight Riders)

The Sri Lankan left-armer is the joint-leading wicket-taker in this year’s competition. The 33-year-old picked up his first five-wicket haul in his 167th T20 appearance against Barbados Royals.

He was only the fourth bowler used by Kieron Pollard, following on from Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales and Akeal Hosein, but he dismissed four of Barbados’ top five – including Glenn Phillips, Johnson Charles, Jason Holder and Azam Khan – before completing the milestone by claiming the scalp of his countryman Thisara Perera.

Ravi Rampaul (Trinbago Knight Riders)

In one of the older seam partnerships going around, Ravi Rampaul is level with Trinbago teammate Udana at the top of the wicket-taking stakes.

His six victims have come in just 11.2 overs at an economy rate of 6.88, featuring figures of 3 for 29 against St Lucia Kings, albeit in defeat. Even at 36, the veteran keeps on delivering.

Mohammad Amir (Barbados Royals)

The Pakistan left-armer had a bit of a shocker in The Hundred for London Spirit, even finding himself dropped as one of three overseas players, so it will come as some relief that he has rediscovered his form for Barbados Royals.

He is level on six wickets with Udana and Rampaul but has been the stingiest of the trio, conceding his runs at an economy rate of 5.33. He has been hit for just five boundaries in 12 overs, counting frontline batsmen Evin Lewis, Haider Ali, Lendl Simmons and Colin Munro among his scalps.

^{Sherfane Rutherford is the leading run-scorer in the competition}

Imran Tahir (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

The old stager shows no signs of winding down. Fresh from reaching the final of The Hundred with Birmingham Phoenix – a campaign during which he claimed the competition’s first hat-trick – he has continued along his merry way for Guyana Amazon Warriors.

He has taken five wickets so far, making him the tournament’s leading spinner.

Oshane Thomas (Barbados Royals)

Isn’t it nice to see Oshane Thomas bowling like this again? The former Jamaica Tallawahs seamer had a torrid time of it in last year’s Caribbean Premier League and looked woefully short of form and fitness, just a year after having turned out for West Indies at the World Cup.

So, the early signs of this revival have been encouraging: he has taken four wickets at an economy rate of 5.38 since moving to Barbados Royals.