26 August 2018
Big-hitting West Indian steals victory for St Lucia with one huge over
By Cricket.com.au
Kieron Pollard has continued his excellent form in the Caribbean Premier League, producing a late blitz to lead St Lucia Stars to just their second win of the 2018 tournament.
The chase was hanging in the balance with St Lucia needing 31 runs from the final three overs in their pursuit of Guyana Amazon Warriors’ 9-140, before Pollard blasted 30 runs off one Devendra Bishoo over.
The explosive West Indian single-handedly turned the match on its head as he struck 6, 6, 4, 6, 4 and 4 in the space of six deliveries to level scores, before a single from Andre Fletcher ensured St Lucia eased home with 11 balls to spare and six wickets in hand.
Pollard finished unbeaten on 41 from just 18 deliveries, continuing the good form that saw him score a century one week ago to hand the Stars their first win of the season.
St Lucia were at risk of falling short of their below-par target after Lendl Simmons (15 off 20) and David Warner (23 off 16) failed to convert their starts, and Rakheem Cornwall (0) and Qais Ahmad (6) fell cheaply.
ut Pollard, batting at No.6, shared a 44-run stand with Fletcher, who batted through the chase for an unbeaten 45 from 46.
Earlier, the hosts restricted top-ranked Guyana to 9-140, with Cameron Delport’s 25 the highest score in an innings that saw St Lucia regularly strike with the ball.
The result wasn’t enough to lift St Lucia off the bottom of the table, but they have a chance to make it back-to-back wins when they host Jamaica on August 25 (Sunday morning AEST).
Steve Smith’s Barbados Tridents will also be in action on the 25th, taking on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Bridgetown.
Standings - Caribbean Premier League 2018
Pos. | P | W | L | T | NR | RR | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamaica Tallawahs | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.025 | 8 |
2 | St Kitts and Nevis Patriots | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.784 | 6 |
3 | Trinbago Knight Riders | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.61 | 6 |
4 | Guyana Amazon Warriors | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.598 | 6 |
5 | Barbados Tridents | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.214 | 4 |
6 | St Lucia Stars | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.217 | 4 |