Basseterre, St. Kitts — They’ve had their ups and they’ve had their downs, but going into the second half of the Hero Caribbean League 2015 campaign new-kids-on-the-block St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots have proved one thing beyond a shadow of doubt; they can compete with the best in this world-class Twenty20 tournament.
They’ve played reigning CPL champions and current league leaders Barbados Tridents twice – and beaten them twice. They’ve inflicted a massive defeat on Chris Gayle’s powerful Jamaica Tallawahs. They’ve played hard and well in the games they’ve lost, with not a single heavily one-sided defeat among them.
And the fans love them, with thousands of Kittitians and Nevisians flocking to Warner Park for every home game to cheer on their country’s new sporting heroes.
A look at the CPL’s individual records thus far this season is also illuminating, with Patriots players figuring prominently in just about every category.
Among the leading run-getters, Captain Marlon Samuels, leading by example, is third to Gayle and St. Lucia Zouks’ Andre Fletcher. The batsman with the highest strike rate in the campaign is the Patriots’ Carlos Brathwaite. Among leading wicket-takers, the Patriots’ brilliant South African spin bowler Tabraiz Shamsi is second to the Tallawahs’ Krishmar Santokie and has two four-wicket hauls, one of them a spectacular 4 for 10. Second in that category is Patriots’ pace merchant Sohail Tanvir, with a per-over average of 5.21. Patriots’ opening batsman Evin Lewis is prominent in the list of highest individual scores, with his 82 against the Tallawahs putting him in fourth place, behind a couple of heavy hitters named Chris Gayle (with the highest and second highest innings) and Kevin Pietersen.
Here’s a quick look at the Patriots’ game-by-game record:
Game One: Lost by seven wickets to St. Lucia Zouks at Beausejour Cricket Ground. The Patriots scored a solid 149-6 and the Zouks passed that with 150-3 and 4.2 overs to spare.
Game Two: Beat Barbados Tridents by one run in a cliff-hanger at Kensington Oval. The Patriots made 143-8 in their 20 overs and held the Tridents to 142-7 on the last ball of the match.
Game Three: Lost by seven wickets to the Tallawahs in the home opener at Warner Park. The Patriots made a useful 160-5 batting first, but ran into Gayle in full flight and the visitors made 164-3.
Game Four: Lost by seven wickets to Guyana Amazon Warriors at Warner Park. The Patriots made a respectable 149-9. The Warriors replied with 150-3 with four overs to spare.
Game Five: Beat the Tallawahs by 119 runs at Warner Park. The Patriots made an excellent 199-5 then skittled the visitors all out for 80.
Game Six: Beat the Tridents by eight wickets at Warner Park. The Tridents were held to 135-8 and the Patriots cruised home with 139-2 and 2.5 overs to spare.
Game Seven: Lost to the Amazon Warriors by 23 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method in a rain-marred match at Warner Park. The Patriots made 158-6 in their 20 overs. Amazon Warriors were 146-2 after 16.4 overs when play was abandoned.