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After a long string of low scores, Andre Fletcher finally came good with a man-of-the-match performance that saw the Melbourne Stars score a massive 111-run victory over the Adelaide Strikers in Melbourne on Thursday.
Adam Zampa’s five-wicket haul was also instrumental to the Stars victory that moved them up to sixth in the Big Bash League table.
The Grenadian whose best score before Thursday was 18 against the Thunder on December 29, blasted an unbeaten 89 as the Stars racked up 179 for 2 in their 20 overs. The Spiceman smashed eight fours and four sixes in his 49-ball knock.
His 50 had come up from just 36 balls and included four fours and a six.
He featured in partnerships of 41 with fellow opener Marcus Stoinis (13); 61 with Glen Maxwell (39), and 77 with Hilton Cartwright, who remained unbeaten on 30 at the end.
Cameron Valente and Danny Briggs were the best of the Adelaide bowlers each returning figures of 1 for 36 from their respective four-over allotments.
Adelaide needing 180 to win, slumped to 68 all out in just 14.2 overs as Zampa took 5 for 17, Glen Maxwell, 2-12 and Zahir Khan 2-19 to seal the comprehensive victory.
Matt Renshaw (20), Johnathan Wells (18) and Jake Weatherald (10) were the only Adelaide batsmen to get to double figures.
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Republic Bank announced as new CPL title sponsor in three-year deal
Republic Bank Limited, the largest indigenous bank in the English-speaking Caribbean, has been announced as the new title sponsor and official bank of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The announcement was made by CPL Chief Executive Officer, Pete Russell, in a press conference held Wednesday in Port of Spain to launch the 2023 season of the T20 cricket tournament.
Having previously sponsored the CPL as the official banking partner since 2015, the bank will now assume the league’s highest sponsorship profile for the next three (3) years.
Republic Bank has also been confirmed as a partner for the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) which will return in 2023 for its second edition. The WCPL sees the best female cricketers from across the region and around the world showcase their skills in front of a huge global audience.
“Republic Bank are the perfect partner for the CPL and WCPL, a company that shares our passion for cricket and Caribbean culture,” said Pete Russell, CEO of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.
“The CPL is a driver of economic growth and the creation of jobs, so having a financial group like Republic Bank as the title sponsor makes perfect sense. In addition, Republic Bank has a great track record of spreading the love of cricket across the region, something that is important to all of us at the CPL.”
Nigel Baptiste, Group President and Chief Executive Officer for the Republic Group, said: “We are excited to be the Title Sponsor and Official Bank of the Caribbean Premier League. Cricket is hugely important to Caribbean heritage, culture, community and youth development and as the Caribbean’s largest sporting event and one of its most significant sport entertainment exports, the CPL demonstrates to the world the Caribbean’s capability and prowess, illustrates our talent and future potential, and showcases our joyous and incomparable spirit.”
Captain Powell the hero as West Indies win thriller against South Africa
New skipper Rovman Powell powered West Indies to a stunning three-wicket win against South Africa in a rain-reduced T20I clash on Saturday.
The start in Centurion was pushed back because of wet conditions and the contest was reduced to an 11-overs-a-side thrash, with South Africa totting up 131-8, helping by David Miller crunching 48 from 22 balls.
Miller struck three sixes as the home side recovered well from losing opener Quinton de Kock to the first ball of their innings at SuperSport Park.
West Indies made a flying start to their reply as Brandon King and Kyle Mayers took 17 runs from the first four deliveries. King's 23, and 28 from Johnson Charles, helped to put the tourists in a strong position, but it was Powell who played the crucial innings.
The 29-year-old Jamaican hit five sixes in an explosive 43no from 18 balls, holding his nerve after West Indies lost two wickets to Sisanda Magala (3-21) in the 10th over.
Powell's maximum from the second delivery of the 11th over brought the teams level, and he tucked away a single into the leg side from the next ball to seal the win, taking West Indies to 132-7.
Powell starts as he means to go on
The chance to lead arose for Powell when Nicholas Pooran resigned as West Indies' white-ball captain after last year's T20 World Cup.
Powell has taken on the T20I job, with Shai Hope leading the ODI team, and this was a whirlwind beginning for the incoming captain, firstly with the match being reduced to a quickfire slog, and then with the pressure falling on his shoulders with the bat.
He came in at 66-3 in the fifth over, after the breakneck start, and saw the job through, posting his joint-sixth highest T20I score in what was his 47th innings at this level.
Trend to continue?
The last three T20I series between these teams have been won by the touring side, and with two games remaining in this series we might be on for a repeat.
South Africa are experiencing a dire run of series results in T20Is at home, having lost their last four such series, last getting a home success against Sri Lanka in March 2019.
Over the longer course of a full 20 overs it might prove a different story between these teams, with the win for West Indies on this occasion being just the second in their last 16 T20Is away from home. They and South Africa go again on Sunday, also in Centurion.
Finch and De Kock among first overseas players in Major League Cricket
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch and ex-South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock are among the first overseas names for Major League Cricket's inaugural season.
The pair were among six non-domestic players assigned during Sunday's draft at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Australia duo Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh, along with South Africa's Anrich Nortje and Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga were also included as overseas participants.
Major League Cricket – the first professional T20 league in the United States – will consist of six franchises in its debut year, as cricket looks to build a foothold in the country.
The ICC are hopeful the sport will be included in the 2028 Olympic Games, to be held in Los Angeles, where one of the half-dozen teams will be based.
Finch, who retired from T20Is in February, will captain San Francisco Unicorns, where he will be joined by compatriot Stoinis and England's Liam Plunkett, who qualifies as a domestic player through his American wife.
The pace bowler, who was a member of the successful England team from the 2019 Cricket World Cup, previously played in Minor League Cricket, the developmental league for MLC.
De Kock is set to play for Seattle Orcas alongside Marsh, while Nortje and Hasaranga will turn out for Washington Freedom.
The three remaining sides – Texas Super Kings, Los Angeles Knight Riders and MI New York – are yet to add an overseas player, though each drafted nine US-based players on Sunday.
The tournament will take place over three weeks at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas between July 13 and 30.
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