St Lucia Kings 139 for 4 (Jones 48*, Chase 39, Sinclair 1-5) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 138 for 8 (Pretorius 25, Noor 3-19, Forde 1-11) by six wickets
Two months after sprinter Julien Alfred delivered St Lucia's first Olympic medal, St Lucia's very own Daren Sammy and his Kings gave the region its maiden CPL title, silencing a packed crowd at the Providence.
The crowd had been at its loudest when Guyana Amazon Warriors reduced Kings to 51 for 4 in their chase of 139 on a slow, two-paced surface. Kings went nine overs without a single boundary. Roston Chase was battling illness. Aaron Jones was struggling so much that Sammy contemplated retiring him out. Amazon Warriors' four-pronged spin attack had their side dreaming of back-to-back titles.
Jones, however, turned the tables on them and crushed their dream. After being on 10 off 19 balls, Jones zoomed to 38 off his next 12 balls, forging an unbroken 88-run partnership with Chase, who has been with Kings for five seasons.
Chase played the Marlon Samuels role, something he's been doing for West Indies for a while, and capped a stellar week for him, in which he had also earned a CWI central contract.
Amazon Warriors slow off the blocks
After being asked to bat first on a sluggish pitch, Amazon Warriors could only manage 27 runs in the powerplay for the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) who had picked out mid-on in the very first over. This was the second fewest Amazon Warriors had scored in the first six overs in 13 games this season.
Khary Pierre, who had spent much of his time at Trinbago Knight Riders in the shadows of Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein, came away with 2-0-6-1 during this phase. As for Alzarri Joseph, he handcuffed Moeen Ali with wide lines before Afghanistan left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad had him miscuing a slog-sweep to midwicket for 14 off 20 balls. Then, in his next over, Noor also claimed the prized scalp of Shimron Hetmyer when he had him carving his stock ball to sweeper cover for 11 off nine balls.
Shai Hope contributed 22 off 24 balls before Chase knocked him over with an offbreak that kept low. By the time, Noor finished his spell with figures of 4-0-19-3, Amazon Warriors were 102 for 7 in 18 overs.
Noor ended the season with 22 wickets; only CPL legend Dwayne Bravo has bagged more wickets in a season (2015) in the league.
Shepherd, Pretorius turn up the tempo
That Amazon Warriors eventually had a fairly competitive total on the board was down to the big-hitting of their finisher Romario Shepherd and Dwaine Pretorius, who was the Player of the Match in the CPL 2023 final. They combined for three sixes and two fours in the last two overs, which overall yielded 36 runs for Amazon Warriors.
Amazon Warriors roar back
Shepherd then struck with the new ball when he had Johnson Charles, one of the heroes for Kings this season, chopping on for seven off ten balls. After bowling that wicket-taking delivery, Shepherd walked off the field with some discomfort.
Amazon Warriors' slower bowlers then tightened the screws on Kings as Faf du Plessis, Ackeem Auguste and their New Zealand recruit Tim Seifert all fell in a space of three overs. Chase and Jones then got together but they couldn't get the boundaries away.
Chase and Jones finish it off for Kings
After the calm, came the storm. The pair lined Moeen's offspin up for a sequence of 6,6,4,6,4 in a 27-run 16th over. Just like that, they snatched the game from Amazon Warriors' grasp.
Jones also went after Pretorius in the next over, taking 20 runs off the 17th over. Shepherd returned to bowl, but by then the game was over for Amazon Warriors.
Jones provided a throwback to his unbeaten 94 off 40 balls in the opening game of the 2024 T20 World Cup with his six-hitting and celebrated those maximums with animated fist pumps. That world tournament paved the way for Jones' return to the CPL (as a local player through his Barbados passport) and he made it a memorable night for himself and Kings. Coach Sammy wrapping Jones up in a bear hug will be one of the most lasting images for Kings in this triumphant campaign.
