CPL: Stars get first point after washout

The St Lucia Stars received their first point of the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season after rain caused their match against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to be abandoned after 8.1 overs of play.

Just over half an hour of play was possible before a heavy burst of rain caught the players by surprise. Despite the best efforts of the groundsmen they were unable to ready the ground for play again with further frequent showers complicating their task. 

In the short amount of play that was possible the Patriots had done well to restrict the Stars batsmen. After winning the toss and electing to field first the Patriots bowled six straight overs of spin in the PowerPlay. The Stars have struggled against spin this season and that trend continued with just 33 runs coming from the first six overs bowled by Fabian Allen and Samuel Badree.

The pressure of that tight start accounted for Johnson Charles who mis-timed an aggressive shot to long-off against Allen when looking to increase the scoring rate. Badree had time to finish his quota of four overs, conceding just 17 runs from them before the rain arrived.  

The initial shower was short but significant and caused a lot of damage to the outfield and square. The groundsmen worked tirelessly for two and a half hours before the match was declared a no result. One point for the Patriots moves them clear of the Jamaica Tallawahs who are third in the table. The Stars meanwhile, remain in sixth position.