Guyana-born Sherfane Rutherford stroked two fifties in three matches to lead his newly adopted franchise, the St Kitts Patriots, to the top of the points table at the end of the 2021 CPL’s first four days of competition. St Kitts with an unbeaten record of three wins from as many matches was at the top of the table with 6 points.
After four days of intense competition, and at the time of the Monday August 30 first break, the remaining four teams were all locked on four points. Jamaica Tallawahs (P2W1L2), Trinbago Knight Riders (P3W1L2), Guyana Amazon Warriors (P3W1L2), Barbados Royals (P3W1L2) and St Lucia Kings (P2 W1L1)were respectively in second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions behind the Patriots, as a result of their respective, inferior, win-loss records.
Rutherford’s 34 ball 59, his second half century of the Tournament,
propelled the St Kitts Patriots to a comfortable six wickets victory over
his former, home country franchise the Guyana Amazon Warriors
when the two teams met on Sunday, August 29. Rutherford’s first
half century of this year’s Tournament had been scored during the
Patriots’ opening match against the Barbados Royals. Together with his
captain, Dwayne Bravo, Rutherford had posted an aggressive 115 run
partnership, made off of just 70 balls to help the Patriots reach 175/5
off of its 20 overs. That total proved to be out of the Royals reach as
they fell short by 21 runs.
In addition to Rutherford’s two half-centuries there were also similar
landmarks from five other batsmen with the Tournament’s first four
days. Glen Phillips (56*) and Andre Russell (50) of the Tallawahs (56*),
Rutherford Patriots’ teammates Evan Lewis (62) and Devon Thomas (55), as well as TKR’s Kieron Pollard (58*) were all already among the CPL’s 2021 halfcenturions. Russell’s brutal 14 ball 50, in the Tallawah’s opening match against the St Lucia Kings established a record as the fastest ever half-century in CPL history.
Among the bowlers, Isuru Udana’s 5/21 for the Barbados Royals, in its match against the Trinbago Knight Riders, was by far the most outstanding performance by the time the break was taken. By then several other bowlers had, however, also recorded impressive three-wicket hauls.
The 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League is being played entirely
in St Kitts at the island’s Warner Park Cricket Ground. The
Tournament’s semi-finals involving the top four placed teams will
be played on Tuesday September 14. The CPL 2021 Tournament
Final will take place on September 15, just one day after the two
semis.