Sammy Inspires Zouks To Historic Hero CPL Victory Over Patriots #CPL16

On the night that the Beauséjour Stadium was renamed in honour of Daren Sammy, the Zouks captain celebrated with a match winning half-century against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Sammy recorded his highest Hero CPL score as the Zouks secured a victory that keeps them in the tournament.

The same is not the case for the Patriots who can no longer advance to the knockout stages having recorded just one win in the eight matches they have played so far. They ended up 35 runs short of their victory target meaning they are now playing for pride in their remaining fixtures.

Zouks captain Daren Sammy on the attack during Match 21 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League match between the St Lucia Zouks and the Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Photo by Ashley Allen/Sportsfile

The Zouks batted first and lost Andre Fletcher in the second over to a brilliant diving catch from Alzarri Joseph, but they still got off to a very brisk start thanks to 25 runs from just 14 balls from Johnson Charles.

Charles was looking in excellent touch on his home ground, but he miscued a pull shot off Joseph straight to a fielder right in front of the newly christened Johnson Charles Stand.

The wicket of Charles left the Zouks 39-2 at the start of the fifth over. The run rate was good but having lost both openers they were in danger of losing the momentum that they had built thanks to Charles’ big hitting. That danger became a reality when Shane Watson was out for 15 off the bowling of Jonathan Carter.
Michael Hussey and David Miller attempted to do a rebuilding job, batting for five overs for 25 runs with the hope that they could catch up with the scoring rate later on. While the theory was sound the execution was lacking, Hussey departed for 26, edging behind off Carter.

Patriots batsman Lendl Simmons bats during Match 21 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League match between the St Lucia Zouks and the Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Photo by Ashley Allen/Sportsfile

That brought man of the moment Sammy to the crease at a ground that is now named after him. Thankfully for Sammy and the local crowd he came off brilliantly to take his team to a competitive total. He blasted 59 runs from 35 balls as the Zouks reached 174-9 from their 20 overs.

This was Sammy’s first Hero CPL fifty and his highest T20 score in the Caribbean. It could not have been scripted any better for the Zouks’ captain. A flurry of wickets at the back end of the innings for Joseph saw the West Indies under-19 star claim a career best 4-41, but it left the Patriots needing a record chase on this ground for victory.

The Patriots batting has been inconsistent at the Hero CPL in 2016 and they would need a great start from their top order to reach this target. Both Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons were gone inside the batting PowerPlay with the Patriots reaching 46-2 after six overs.

Daren Sammy collects his man of the match award after Match 21 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League match between the St Lucia Zouks and the Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Photo by Ashley Allen/Sportsfile

The Zouks continued to squeeze the Patriots in the middle overs and the rate kept on rising. JJ Smuts was finding the odd boundary but not with enough regularity to keep his team on track. Smuts fell attempting to launch a ball from Delorn Johnson over long on and only managing to find the fielder.

When Sammy picked up the wicket of Devon Thomas the crowd went crazy, with the Patriots reduced to 73-4 in the 10th over. A superb partnership between Faf du Plessis and Carter that brought the Patriots 50 runs from 36 balls kept them in the game. It looked like the two batsmen would take the Patriots home but when Carter slipped mid-pitch he was run out for 21.

When Brad Hodge fell cheaply the Patriots’ last hope of victory was gone, as was their hopes of making the finals week back home in St Kitts.

Zouks captain Daren Sammy bowls during Match 21 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League match between the St Lucia Zouks and the Nevis Patriots at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia. Photo by Ashley Allen/Sportsfile

UPCOMING FIXTURES: Saturday, 23 July – St. Lucia Zouks v Barbados Tridents, Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium (12pm)

TICKETS: Tickets for all CPL fixtures in the Caribbean and Fort Lauderdale are on sale now from http://www.cplt20.com.

Zouks Star Hussey Hails Competitive Nature Of Hero CPL Ahead Of Crunch Period

Australian legend says St. Lucia based side determined to get back to winnings ways in Guyana

St. Lucia Zouks batsman Michael Hussey says his team are gearing up for a critical spell in this year’s Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign starting with a tough test against league leaders the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Providence on Tuesday night (7pm).

Darren Sammy’s men have enjoyed a mixed start in their two outings to date, with the impressive opening night victory over Trinbago Knight Riders followed by a defeat away to St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots last time out.
However with the Zouks then down to face Barbados Tridents in Bridgetown (17 July), before starting the first of four home fixtures in the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, from 21-26 July, the action will be start to come thick and fast over the next fortnight.

Michael Hussey, St. Lucia Zouks Batman
Photo by Randy Brooks/Sportsfile

The experienced Hussey is enjoying his debut Hero CPL campaign thus far at the biggest party in sport and believes that the level of competition across each of the six teams has raised the stakes as the chase for one of the coveted top four spots intensifies.

Speaking exclusively to http://www.cplt20.com ahead of the Zouks’ third game of the Hero CPL campaign, Hussey said: “It (the Hero CPL) is very strong. Every team is a good team, so you’ve got to be pretty close to your best for every game to win.

“Personally I’ve found it tough, just getting used to the pitches again and stuff like that, but it’s been good. We’ve got a really good spirit amongst the team and we’re looking forward to the rest of the tournament. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also tough cricket.

“They (Guyana Amazon Warriors) look like they’ve got a very tight-knit group. They’ve got some dangerous players. When you talk about (Adam) Zampa there he’s a very good, particularly short form, player. And (Chris) Lynn. Well, far out! He’s one of the most dangerous T20 batsmen in the world. So, those two in particular are really tough guys to play against.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what the conditions are going to be like down in Guyana. We’ve been told it’s quite low and quite slow, but it spins quite a lot so it will be an interesting challenge, maybe a different type of game where the scores might be slightly lower, but we’ll get down there and prepare as well as we can and see how we go.

“We showed in Trinidad that if you come with the right attitude, and you execute well under enormous pressure, then you can still come out on top. Trinidad is a pretty daunting place to go to – with the home crowd and they play the conditions very well – but we were able to go there and win. So that gives us a lot of confidence going forward and when you’re going to new places where you haven’t played before, to try and take those conditions out of it.

Michael Hussey, St. Lucia Zouks Batman
Photo by Ashley Allen:Sportsfile

“We know it’s going to be a great challenge, and it’s going to be tough, but we’re looking forward to it. The week off has given us a chance to get together, train a bit together, get to know each other better and hopefully we can really hit the ground running in Guyana.

“I’d really like us to make the (Hero CPL) Finals. That constitutes success I think. We haven’t made the Finals yet, so if we can make the Finals then that will be a really nice stepping-stone and in the years to come hopefully we can build on that.

“It’s not easy. As I said, every team is tough, so we’ve got to gel together, work hard and we’ve got to prepare well and hopefully have a bit of luck along the way. Once you’re in the Finals, anything can happen. If you get a bit of momentum going at the right time, we’ve seen that in T20 tournament around the world, it’s just about doing enough to get in there and once you’re there, anything can happen.”

Next Fixture: Tuesday, 12 July – Guyana Amazon Warriors v St. Lucia Zouks, Providence, 7pm

Tickets are on sale now for all games across the Caribbean and Florida from http://www.cplt20.com.

Shane Watson Only Has Eyes For CPL Prize With Zouks #CPL16

Star Australian all-rounder “hungrier than ever” to achieve success

St. Lucia Zouks-bound all-rounder Shane Watson says that he’s determined to start the latest chapter in his career on a high as excitement for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) builds across the Caribbean and beyond.

The Australia star recently drew the curtains on an illustrious international career, distinguishing himself as one of the great all-round talents of the modern era. With the bat across all three formats the Queenslander scored 3,731 Test runs in 58 Test matches (including four centuries at an average of 35.19), 5,757 runs in 190 One-Day Internationals (averaging 40.54) and 1,462 runs in 58 Twenty20 internationals (at 29.24). While with the ball, the fast-medium bowler claimed 75 Test wickets, 168 ODI victims and 48 T20 wickets.

Watson, who departed the international arena with Australia at the top of the ICC’s T20 all-rounder rankings following the recent ICC World T20 in India, joins a squad brimming with talent and promise. In addition to captain Darren Sammy, another local favourite in Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher – who all featured in West Indies’ World T20 success – the squad includes a host of rising domestic talent as well as South African duo David Miller and Morne Morkel. And there’s a familiar face in fellow Australian stalwart Mike Hussey, another CPL debutant, in the Zouks squad.

In an exclusive interview with http://www.cplt20.com on the eve of his 35th birthday today, Watson outlined his hopes and ambitions for the forthcoming campaign and shared a fascinating insight on the Zouks squad and how there’s plenty of fight in the old dog yet.

On the competitiveness of this year’s CPL: “There’s no doubt that this year’s CPL is going to be fiercely competitive. There are world-class players playing in the tournament which immediately puts a jolt of excitement in you, even before a ball is bowled and I’m hungrier than ever to try and bring some success to the Zouks. I’ve heard a lot about the carnival atmosphere at CPL games and it will be a thrill to step out there on the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.”

On finishing his international career: “To be honest, it doesn’t really feel like I’ve retired because I’ve still been as busy as any other time. Obviously the World T20 was hugely frustrating, but that’s another story. But going on to play IPL was a fun experience. I had made a few tweaks on the technical side of my bowling and mentally I was trusting my own instincts a bit more, which helped me achieve better consistency. I’ve had a better run of consistently better days than previously in my career. Even though one door has now closed on my career, I’m as hungry as ever to keep on learning, keep improving my own skills and hopefully keep on contributing to the team.”

On being part of the CPL’s historic move to the USA: “I think this is a great opportunity, not just for CPL but for the game of cricket internationally. It’s huge, if I’m honest. Every single player I’ve spoken to about CPL is raving about being part of this new departure and if we can get a good level of support there this year, hopefully the popularity of the game will just grow and grow. It’s a privilege to be a part of something new on the horizon.”

Shane Watson
photo credit: Kiran Rao
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

On the influence of Michael Hussey: “I’m excited to play with Mike again. Mike is quite simply one of the nicest and most genuine guys you could ever hope to meet and I’m fortunate to have played a lot with him for Australia and in the Big Bash League (BBL). I’m delighted that I’m going to be out in the trenches with him again and he will add a huge amount to the Zouks environment, especially with the younger players. He has so much enthusiasm for the game still, even at 41, and he has showed his class time and time again. At the BBL he had hardly picked up a bat in six months and went out and crashed 80 not out in his first game to win the match for Sydney Thunder. It’s like he’s timeless!”

On once foes becoming friends this summer: “One of the great aspects of playing on the T20 circuit is the friends you make. And I love St. Lucia. The people are friendly and passionate about where they’re from and as one of the overseas players coming into the Zouks side, I know a lot is expected of us all to work hard. It’s exciting to get the chance to play again with Morne (Morkel). We had played together in one of the early IPL seasons and he has caused enough headaches playing against him that it’s nice he’s on my side now! I’ve only heard good things about David (Miller) and he has grown a lot as a cricketer over the past few years. Then there’s the main man (Darren) Sammy who I have yet to play with. He’s obviously a charismatic leader and it will be interesting to see his style of captaincy up front. And there’s a hardy crop of good young West Indies talent who will be chomping at the bit to impress. With the West Indies doing so well lately, and the Under-19’s winning their World Cup, it’s clear the structures that are in place are working across the Caribbean. Let me put it this way, none of us are coming along this summer just to cruise by. That’s not how I operate and I know from experience that that’s not how Mike Hussey is made of either.”

*Tickets for CPL fixtures in the Caribbean and Fort Lauderdale are on sale now from http://www.cplt20.com.