Super50 Cup takes spotlight

Four years ago Jason Holder led Barbados Pride to the regional Super50 Cup title.

Group matches were played in Barbados and Antigua with the latter also hosting the semi-finals and Final.

Boasting of a very strong team, Barbados dominated Group ‘B’ at home, with only one defeat against Jamaica Scorpions, who finished second.

They then crushed the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by 110 runs in the semi-finals and defeated the Scorpions by 59 runs in the Final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

Now with the six-team CG Insurance Tournament being played in Antigua, starting on Sunday, Holder, the West Indies Test captain, will be hoping for a return to silverware as he skippers another relatively strong side.

The withdrawal of the Hope brothers, Kyle and Shai, from the original squad after both tested positive for Covid-19, can be termed “unfortunate” but their replacements, batsman Zachary McCaskie and wicket-keeper/batsman Tevyn Walcott must be keen to prove their worth.

Walcott made his debut in the Tournament three years ago and has played 17 matches, while McCaskie had his first taste in 2019, turning out in two matches.

Shai Hope was one of the top players in the 2017 Championship with both bat and gloves. He and Holder stood out in the Final.

Those who represented Barbados in 2017 were Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn, Anthony Alleyne, Kevin Stoute, Jomel Warrican and Miguel Cummins.

Four players – Holder, Carter, Chase and Nurse – are in the current team.

Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Joshua Bishop, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Chemar Holder, Akeem Jordan, Nicholas Kirton, Zachary McCaskie, Ashley Nurse, Tevyn Walcott.

Management: Head coach: Dexter Toppin; Assistant coach: Corey Collymore; Manager: Wendell Coppin; Physiotherapist: Dr. Jacqueline King; Strength & Conditioning Trainer: Alexander Forde; Video analyst: Jamar Layne.

In looking back at the 2017 Final, Barbados made 271 for nine off 50 overs after winning the toss.

Shai Hope slammed a second straight century and Holder hit an attacking 69.

Following an opening partnership of 59 in 12.3 overs between Kraigg Brathwaite (22) and Stoute (41), the scoring rate dipped against the spinners.

There was some anxiety at 138 for five by the 35th over before Hope and Holder showed their class, putting on 127 in 13.4 overs for the sixth wicket.

It was a true exhibition of fine strokes with 110 runs coming off the last ten overs.

Hope made 101 off 98 balls including five fours and five sixes at No. 3 where he batted throughout the Tournament. He was eighth out, run out, with the score 269 in the 50th over. His half-century came off 69 balls with four boundaries.

Holder’s knock took 47 balls and contained five fours and four sixes after reaching his fifty off 39 deliveries with three fours and three sixes.

“When I went in to bat with Shai, I thought it was important for us to get a partnership and I just needed to be positive as well,” Holder said.

“There was no point me going out there and trying to soak up balls and put pressure back on us. It was a period where I had to consolidate a bit but still had to remain positive and it was important that I kept instilling confidence in Shai and made it easier for him by rotating the strike.

“I was able to do that and I was able to launch. But again, Shai Hope was absolutely outstanding and must be given credit for the way he played in this tournament. He didn’t have the best of starts but he finished the back end – the most important part of the tournament – really well.”

Holder also placed emphasis on the consistency of the team.

“I thought the guys were very, very consistent all tournament long. We put in the performance needed to win this final and I don’t think a better team could have come up and won this final so congrats to the Barbados Pride team and everyone who would have contributed to this.”

Jamaica had amassed a record 434 for four in the semi-finals against the champions of the previous season, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, in a 292-run victory but they encountered a much more potent attack and fell for 212 in 44.3 overs.

Smart new ball bowling by Roach and Holder led to early pressure.

Roach accounted for left-hander Steven Taylor (nine) and Jermaine Blackwood (seven) – both to attacking strokes – to leave the score 26 for two by the end of the fifth over.

As the pressure built with the introduction of left-arm spinner Benn and off-spinner Nurse, wickets fell steadily and the score was 122 for seven by the 31st over.

Rovman Powell and Jerome Taylor then put on 59 in 9.3 overs for the eighth wicket.

Powell scored 65 off 59 balls including five fours and four sixes before he was last out.

Benn was the leading wicket-taker with three for 33 off ten overs; Holder took two for 28 off nine overs; Carlos Brathwaite, two for 43 off 6.3 overs and Roach, two for 54 off eight overs.

The top three Barbados batsmen in the tournament all had a maximum of ten innings and significantly, their aggregates and averages followed each other. Kraigg Brathwaite scored 484 runs including two centuries and three half-centuries (ave: 53.77; Strike Rate 64.50); Hope 482, also with two hundreds and three fifties (ave: 48.20; SR: 79.80) and Carter 308 including three half-centuries (ave: 34.22; SR: 88.25).

Holder, however, boasted of the best strike rate of 122.41, having scored 213 runs (ave: 26.62).

Hope, whose last five innings produced scores of 63, 56, 62, 125 and 101, also effected the most dismissals (21) as a wicket-keeper (17 catches and four stumpings) in the Tournament. He was named as the top all-rounder.

And Kraigg Brathwaite’s aggregate was the second highest after Kieran Powell, the Leeward Islands captain and opener, who amassed 513 (ave: 64.12; SR: 87.99) including three centuries and two half-centuries.

Nurse was the top wicket-taker all told with 26 scalps at 12.50 runs each. His economy rate was 3.55.

Benn took 18 wickets (ave: 10.22; Econ: 2.83), Holder also had 18 (ave: 14.55; Econ: 3.51) and Roach 12 (ave: 19.16; Econ: 4.39).

It was Barbados’ seventh title. They also reached the Final in 2018 – an unprecedented 21st – but lost to Windward Islands Volcanoes by three wickets at the same venue.

Jason Holder has expressed his eagerness about bringing more glory to Barbados.

“We are really looking forward to the first tournament of the year,” he said.

“It’s great to be back and there is a lot of excitement in our camp. We are focussed on winning. It will be important to hold our nerve under pressure and execute under pressure. The team that is most consistent always wins and we have to look at being consistent and win for our country and our fans.”

The message is clear.

Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org). Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com