On this day in 2019: Barbados Tridents lift their second CPL title
Barbados Royals (Formerly known as Barbados Tridents) enjoyed a good season in the domestic T20 tournament this year by finishing second in the Caribbean Premier League 2022 (CPL). This is the fourth time they reached the final of the tournament since its inception in 2013.
They won the second edition of the tournament in 2014 by beating Guyana Amazon Warriors under the leadership of former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard. After a big gap of five years, they won their second title in 2019 under star all-rounder Jason Holder.
CPL 2018 was a disappointing season for the Tridents, who finished in the last position with just two wins in ten group-stage matches. Fans were demanding big results during the pre-season but expectations were never high from the team. Barbados lost their star player Nicholas Pooran to Guyana Amazon Warriors but signed some promising international talent in the form of Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Shakib Al Hasan, and JP Duminy. They also drafted in Caribbean wicketkeeper batter Johnson Charles as a direct replacement for Pooran.
Barbados Tridents started the season with a loss and managed to win only five out of ten group-stage matches. They lost the Qualifier 1 clash against Guyana Amazon Warriors by 30 runs while chasing a big 219-run target. But they registered an easy win in the Qualifier 2 clash against Trinbago Knight Riders by 12 runs after an impressive overall bowling performance.
They face Guyana Amazon Warriors again, the fourth time in a single season, in the final on October 12. Guyana side were favorites for the title triumph after winning all 11 matches this season, including three dominating wins against Barbados Tridents.
Barbados Tridents captain Jason Holder won the toss and decided to bat first at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba. The in-form openers Alex Hales and Johnson Charles gave the Tridents a good start but the Amazon Warriors dominated middle overs to put big pressure on their opponent. Jonathan Carter and Ashley Nurse smashed an unbeaten 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket to guide the Tridents to a challenging 171/6 total in 20 overs.
Guyana side lost their in-form opener Chandrapaul Hemraj in the second over and they struggled to gain momentum throughout the innings. The experienced pacer Raymon Reifer took four wickets to restrict Amazon Warriors’ innings to 144/9 in 20 overs and guided Barbados Tridents to a big 27-run win. Jonathan Carter won the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 50 runs off 27 balls knock.
Johnson Charles scored the highest 415 runs in 13 innings for the Tridents in CPL 2019. But it was Caribbean spinner Hayden Walsh, who took 22 wickets in just nine innings, to guide the Tridents to a title win and also won the player of the tournament award.
