The St. Lucia Kings are determined to secure better outcomes in their remaining three home matches after their recent loss to the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and a rain-affected draw against the Barbados Royals (BR).
Yesterday, the Kings faced off against the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG), which is the designated venue for their home leg of the tournament.
This Thursday, the Kings will take on the St Kitts/Nevis Patriots (STKNP), and they will conclude their home series on Sunday (August 31) against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons (ABF). The Kings are ready to reclaim their momentum and push for victory.
Despite a spirited effort, the defending champions fell to TKR last Saturday, hindered by performance lapses and questionable umpiring decisions.
After being sent in, the Knight Riders got off to a strong start, with Colin Munro scoring 43 runs off 30 balls and Pooran adding 34.
However, it was Pollard’s explosive innings of 65 from 29 balls that set a challenging target of 183. He notably hit 24 runs off David Wiese in a single over, including three consecutive sixes.
The Kings began their chase well, with Tim Seifert and Johnson Charles contributing 35 and 47 runs, respectively.
However, after losing key wicket Tim David to a controversial decision, they struggled to maintain momentum. Despite handy contributions from Delano Potgieter and Ackeem Auguste, they fell short, finishing at 165 for 6.
[Summarized scores:
Trinbago Knight Riders 183 for 7 (Pollard 65, Munro 43, Pooran 34) defeated St Lucia Kings 165 for 6 (Charles 47, Seifert 35) by 18 runs].
In a post-match press conference on Saturday, St. Lucia Kings head coach Daren Sammy expressed his disappointment with the result, stating, “The Kings had the opportunity to win but failed to capitalize.”
Identifying critical areas for improvement, he emphasized, “Our fielding did not meet our usual standards; both ground fielding and catching cost us valuable runs.”
He praised the performances of seamers Oshane Thomas and young local talent Keon Gaston, noting, “Keon continues to demonstrate that he is a player we can develop.”
Sammy stressed the need for the Kings to maintain momentum during the crucial middle overs, from 8 to 15, to set themselves up for a winning challenge.
Concluding his remarks, he asserted, “We need to regroup, learn from our mistakes, and perform better in our upcoming matches.”
R. A.