The breathtaking tournament, the Caribbean Premier League 2019, has come to an end with a blasting final. Barbados Tridents won the CPL title for the second time over Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday in Trinidad. It was Jonathan Carter who gave Tridents 171 for 6 before Ashley Nurse sealed the chase for them by restricting Warriors to 144 for 9.
Batting first, Barbados Tridents openers Johnson Charles and Alex Hales stitched a partnership of 67 runs with Charles hitting 6 boundaries and a six. Then Shai Hope made 8 runs for 12 while Shakib al Hasan was dismissed for 15 off 15 balls. The skipper Jason Holder too exited early as both, Holder and Shakib, were left run out by Keemo Paul. Later on, Jonathan Carter took the score up to 152 with his half-ton in just 27 deliveries. Ashley Nurse’s 19 off 15 helped them to score 171.
In the next innings, Warriors kept losing wickets and failed to threaten Tridents. With both Chandrapaul Hemraj and Shimron Hetmyer being dismissed early, their confidence dropped. Even Brandon King’s 43 off 33 couldn’t help, as the middle order failed to make hay when there was a need of 67 runs in the last four overs. However, Shoaib Malik made 4 off 11 while Nicholas Pooran managed 24 off 25. Following which, Paul tried hard with 25 off 14 but could not give his team a victory.
It was Raymon Reifer who grabbed wickets, with figures of 4 for 24 and destroyed the entire top-order of Warriors. Even Harry Gurney and Nurse pitched in with 2 wickets haul each and helped with a 27 run win.
Jason Holder, Tridents Captain: We had belief. The coaching staff has been outstanding. I couldn’t ask for anything else from my guys. Johnathan was outstanding. I see Simmons as a father, he has been great for the team. The team is exceptional. Credit to everyone. It is hard to single out people. Harry Gurney was exceptional, JP Duminy was amazing and, Nurse was brilliant too. We played better cricket on the day, and we deserved to win. Thank you so much, everybody.
Shoaib Malik, Warriors Captain: I would like to congratulate Barbados Tridents for playing amazing cricket especially in the later stages of the tournament. We missed the trick when King and Pooran were batting in the middle. We didn’t rotate the strike enough. They finished the innings well because of Carter. We started our innings well, but we couldn’t carry on. I want to thank the crowd. Keep coming and supporting us. I would like to congratulate our team for playing good cricket throughout the tournament. I know you guys are disappointed but tomorrow will be a new day and will have new opportunities.
Hayden Walsh, Man of the Series: I have no words right now. I have been working for years and this time it all paid off for me.
Jonathan Carter, Man of the Match: It is a very proud moment for me. I was waiting for this moment for a very, very long time. I am very emotional today. When you have a friendly Jason as a captain who believes in you, things become easier. Jason and Simmons have backed me and gave me support.
Raymon Reifer: This is a great moment for all of us. We lost a few games in the beginning so to come out and win the tournament is a big achievement for all of us. I just tried to do my bit for the team and ended up with good bowling figures. Thank you all the fans from Barbados for supporting us. I know, it was tough in the beginning.
Ashley Nurse: The captain called me to play a big role. A lot of stuff has been said about our team, but we have been a family from day one. Thanks to all the fans back in Barbados, this trophy is for you.
Jason Holder: I can’t explain, credit to everybody. Credit to the guys who stayed together in the difficult times.
