David Wiese made his presence felt with the bat, before capping off a superb game by taking late wickets.
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David Wiese has been in sensational form, ever since his decision to represent Namibia in international cricket came out in the public sphere. Wiese has accounted for two five-wicket hauls in the ongoing edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), with the most recent one recorded in the semi-final encounter against Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). The all-rounder accounted for the dismissals of Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard, Tim Seifert and Akeal Hosein to effectively break the backbone of the TKR batting department. The Knight Riders eventually crumbled for 184, having been handed a target of 206 runs suffering a defeat by a margin of 21 runs.
The Saint Lucia Kings were missing out on the services of veteran cricketer Faf du Plessis who was sidelined due to an injury. However, that certainly did not have an impact on their batting firepower as Mark Deyal smashed 78 runs off 44 deliveries in an innings comprising of five boundaries and six maximums. Roston Chase, Wiese and Tim David were further significant contributors, scoring runs at a rapid pace. Chase and Wiese smashed 36 and 34 runs respectively off 21 balls with the innings comprising of 2 boundaries and as many sixes for the former, with the latter smashing a four and four sixes. David similarly hit a boundary and four sixes, to maintain his reputation of being a game-changer to the core.
Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Narine and Khary Pierre accounted for a dismissal apiece.
None of the Knight Riders batsmen managed to cross the mark of 30 runs, which is an indication of the lack of initiative shown by the players with the bat. Narine and Pollard showed some intent getting off to fine starts, but could never really get the team down across the winning mark.
Kings skipper Andre Fletcher termed reaching the final as a great feeling.
“Great feeling. Last year we got to the final but couldn’t get over the line. This year we wanted to get back there, prove it wasn’t a fluke. Mark played very well. That set them back. I was encouraging him, saying to trust his ability. We knew it wasn’t over. Most important thing was to take the rate as high as possible before Pollard comes in. I’m humble knowing the coaching staff believe in me, and that I have the support of the players,” he said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Pollard credited the opposition for being positive right from the toss.
“Good pitch. They came out positive right from the toss. Have to give them credit. They were the better team. Proud of the boys and the way they fought. Throughout the tournament the guys have been fantastic. Well played to the opposition. A lot of people around the world would’ve loved to see the back of us, and there you have it. Ravi Rampaul coming back to the CPL and bowling well, Akeal Hosein bowled well for us. These things happen and we have to accept it. Will sit back and watch the final tomorrow, and may the best team win,” he said.
Wiese who was named as the Player of the Match, termed his five-wicket haul as an “unbelievable” feeling.
“We got tied down in the middle, with the spinners holding their way. So, we (himself and Tim David) had to go hard in the last few overs. Thankfully, the bowlers lost their line a bit and we cashed in. Unbelievable (on his 5-wicket haul), sometimes it does work out. Everyone bowled well and I got the wickets today, that’s how the game goes. We tried to keep it out of his hitting zone (on Pollard), sometimes such things work out. We’re enjoying it at the moment and making it to the final is a great achievement,” said the all-rounder.
