The SKYEXCH 6IXTY party continued on day four of the action from Warner Park. With the competition really heating up and crucial results needed for qualification, the action was blockbuster.
However, both the Guyana Amazon Warriors men and women failed to clinch a semi-final spot.
Barbados Royals Women beat Guyana Amazon Warriors Women by 5 wickets
Hayley Matthews rediscovered her form as the Barbados Royals Women stormed to victory to knock the Guyana Amazon Warriors out of the tournament and book themselves a spot in the final. Her unbeaten 25 alongside leading run-scorer Chloe Tryon was enough for her side to chase down a modest target of 59 with 15 balls to spare.
The Royals were impeccable in the field bowling out the Warriors to 58/6 from 59 balls with Pakistani quick Fatima Sana impressing in the field implementing two run-outs and taking the wicket of Chedean Nation.
Only Warriors’ captain Stafanie Taylor provided much resistance with the bat, but she eventually fell for a well-fought 28 off 25.
The innings never really ignited and were without any SKYEXCH sixes meaning that the match winner would qualify automatically for the final.
It was a relatively straightforward chase for the Royals who only lost one wicket – that of Shermaine Campbell in pursuit of victory. Tryon and Matthews played classy shots and dealt in boundaries as they raced to the target. They will face Trinbago Knight Riders in Sunday’s final.
Trinbago Knight Riders Men beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Men by 3 runs
Andre Russell was a man on a mission when it came to hitting boundaries for the Trinbago Knight Riders Men in their game against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Men.
Dre Russ blasted the ball to all parts of the ground and sky-rocketed to 72 from just 24 balls with eight SKYEXCH maximums and five fours before he was caught on the boundary by Jansen. The Patriots made a good comeback to calm the run-fest, meaning they needed 156 to win.
The carrot of qualification for the Patriots was also dangling. Should they hit four sixes in the innings, they would qualify even if they lost this match. With three sixes down, Fletcher thought he’d found the magic fourth, but was caught by Seales on the boundary. In just the next over, it seemed a done deal but some incredible acrobatics by Seales prevented the boundary and saw the end of Brevis and the Patriots were 44/3 after four overs.
The very next ball clinched a semi-final spot off the bat of Rutherford and the pressure was off to win the game. Rutherford continued to dispatch sixes out of the ground and brought up his fifty in 14 balls. In the end he fell for 50. Jayden Seales’ expensive final over went for 21 runs but the Patriots fell three runs short in their chase.
Saint Lucia Kings Men beat Jamaica Tallawahs Men by 8 runs
The Kings clocked their first victory of the tournament in their must-win game against the already-qualified Jamaica Tallawahs Men. Roshon Primus has been in fine form so far and it was his crucial knock of 48 from 25 balls alongside a handy 32 from Johnson Charles that set up the Kings for their first win and kept their hopes alive for qualification.
Primus hit five fours and two SKYEXCH sixes during his match-winning knock and struck at a 200 strike rate as the Kings set the Jamaica Tallawahs 110 to win.
Notably, this was also the first time they had made it through all 60 balls without losing their six wickets.
It was a nervous run-chase from the Jamaica Tallawahs, who less than 24 hours ago scored a record 162. They now needed to make more history and make the tournament’s highest successful chase. They were kept quiet in the opening overs and, despite their usual big-hitting, didn’t manage a SKYEXCH maximum in the first two overs.
When Powell and Jangoo got going it looked like the Tallawahs were going to pull off some more magic. The pair brought up a 50 partnership in 37 balls before Jangoo fell for 44 with 19 needed from 10. Fabian Allan bowled tightly and picked up a wicket in the penultimate over and, despite a boundary in the last over, it was too little too late for the Tallawahs and the Kings’ dream of qualification stayed alive.
Barbados Royals Men beat Guyana Amazon Warriors Men by 2 wickets
When the Barbados Royals men took on the Guyana Amazon Warriors, the winner would reach the semi-finals. The Royals came out on top winning by two wickets with 10 balls to spare.
The Warriors failed to ignite when setting their total and limped to 108/6 from their 60 balls. Shimron Hetmyer was notable for his 32 not out off 18 but they needed to bowl well to defend the low target.
Rahkheem Cornwall continued his notorious big-hitting when the Royals came out to chase hitting the first ball for an enormous SKYEXCH six. Mayers joined the six-hitting party and helped claim the floating Powerplay over, meaning the Royals have unlocked it in all three of their games so far.
Having smashed it to all parts Cornwall was undone by Salamkheil meaning he had to go for 21 off 8. It was then Mayers who stepped up and put a huge dent in the chase with a 30 from 16 before it was finished in style by Bosch. The in-form player launched them past the target and into the semi-final with a SKYEXCH maximum, thus completing the highest successful run-chase of the competition so far.
The action concludes on Sunday with the two men’s semi-finals as Tallawahs take the Patriots while the Royals face TKR. The women’s final will be between the Barbados Royals and the Trinbago Knight Riders. (CPLT20)
