Recent Match Report – Kings vs Royals 28th Game 2021

The St Lucia Kings will have to wait for the results of tonight’s games to see if they have reached the play-offs

Barbados Royals 191 for 2 (Mayers 81 *, Phillips 80 *) beat Kings of Saint Lucia 190 for 6 (Chase 56, Cornwall 40, Mayers 3-39) through eight counters

After being established 191, the Royals started off shaky, chained in the power play by Jeavor Royal, before a double wicket maiden appeared to have put them on the verge of defeat early on. Johnson Charles broke through to cover the first ball of Roston Chase’s spell, while Shai Hope was exhausted at the non-attacking end by the next, fired without even getting a chance to strike. As Mayers struggled for fluidity, it was Phillips who took control of the game early on, setting the tone by crushing Chase for a six-cow corner in his next round. From that point on, the two continued to narrow down the leads, and as they started to get closer, the demand rate always stayed well under control.

Even when Wahab Riaz pulled off a tight 18th to slightly increase the pressure, Phillips emphatically released it in the penultimate. Three of the next four balls increased to six as Alzarri Joseph’s horror day (0-49) ended appropriately and miserably, and the side that will support the table finished with their batting display on most impressive of all.

It seemed like it might have been a different story when the Kings ignored Faf du Plessis’s absence. Rakheem Cornwall and Andre Fletcher blitzed in Powerplay. Cornwall hit a 26-ball breeze 40 to set the tone before the irrepressible Chase scored the best goal with 56 as the Kings began to aim for a big result. Without Mohammad Amir, the Royals lacked a bit of cunning both at the top and at the end of their bowling effort, and Raymon Reifer and Mayers came in for a hefty death penalty. At this point, the Kings seemed to have taken control of their own destiny. Phillips and the Royals are making sure they’ll have to wait for the night’s games instead.