Stars come up just short in Providence thriller
ST LUCIA Stars’ long wait for a Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) victory goes on after an agonising three-run defeat to the Guyana Amazon Warriors in a slow-burning thriller at Providence Stadium yesterday.
Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 141 for 4 (Ronchi 42, Walton 31, Qais Ahmad 3/15); St Lucia Stars 138 for 7 (Simmons 45, Pollard 32, Emrit 3/26, Tahir 2/23).
It is now 13 games without success for the Stars despite a muchimproved bowling and fielding display in their second match of the season, while for Guyana, it is two wins from two to start the home leg of their season.
The Stars appeared well on course for a much-needed victory when Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons were compiling an 83run stand for the third wicket in 10 overs, but Riyad Emrit’s three-wicket burst swung the game back in Guyana’s favour as the Stars came up short despite going into the last four overs needing a very gettable 34 with eight wickets in hand.
Simmons was caught behind for 45, and Mark Chapman fell in the next over after running past one from Chris Green to be stumped.
The Stars’ hopes now rested squarely on Pollard, but he fell on 32 to Emrit, who then bowled Rahkeem Cornwall with his very next ball. There would be no hattrick, but Emrit had nevertheless turned the game his team’s way. Despite a huge six from Qais Ahmad, the equation was suddenly 16 from the last over.
Keemo Paul bowled Kavem Hodge with the first ball of the final over, but still, there was more drama to come.
Mitchell McClenaghan hit his first ball for six and then scampered two to reduce the target to eight runs from three balls. The big New Zealander lost the strike, though, and young legspinner Ahmad – who earlier bowled beautifully to collect 3/15 from his four overs – could only scramble three runs from the last two balls to leave Guyana celebrating and the Stars left to wonder what might have been.
KEY ROLE
The Stars’ spinners had earlier played a key role in restricting the Amazon Warriors on a slow pitch, with Ahmad very much to the fore. Hodge also proved hard to get away as he rattled through his four overs at a cost of just 24, while even part-timer Chapman got in on the act with the key wicket of Luke Ronchi for 42 in his solitary over.
And it was then Imran Tahir who first appeared to have steered the game decisively Guyana’s way with two wickets in his first over en route to figures of 2/23, with both his wickets prompting trademark lap-ofhonour celebrations from the excitable leg-spinner.
Even before Tahir’s introduction, the Stars were falling behind the pace, with both Andre Fletcher and David Warner struggling to get bat on ball as the Power Play yielded only 28 runs.
Warner had struggled to 11 from 20 balls, yet the manner of his dismissal was particularly unfortunate as he was adjudged leg-before despite the ball hitting his glove rather than pad as he attempted a reverse sweep.