LAUDERHILL, Florida, CMC – Andre Fletcher pummelled a characteristically aggressive half-century as St Lucia Zouks trounced Jamaica Tallawahs by 63 runs to book their spot in the playoffs of the Caribbean Premier League.
Sent in at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium here yesterday, Zouks raced to an imposing 206 for three off their 20 overs, with the right-handed Fletcher blasting an unbeaten 74 off 49 balls.
Fellow opener Johnson Charles slammed 59 and Australian all-rounder Shane Watson weighed in with 43 while pacer Kesrick Williams picked up two for 28 from his four overs.
In reply, Tallawahs lost talismanic captain Chris Gayle cheaply for 13 and were never really in the hunt, finishing on 143 for eight off their 20 overs.
Opener Chadwick Walton stroked 54 off 51 deliveries while Alex Ross chipped in with 23. They were the only two to pass 20 as left-arm seamer Delorn Johnson snatched three for 30 and recently retired West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor, two for 34.
The victory was Zouks’ fourth in their last five outings and it moved to ten points, in third place behind leaders Tallawahs on 13 points, with Guyana Amazon Warriors second on 12.
They face Tallawahs again today in their final preliminary game.
Yesterday, the right-handed pair of Fletcher and Johnson set the tone for the innings with an up tempo 89-run, first wicket stand off 57 deliveries. Fletcher smashed four fours and four sixes while Charles 37 balls and counted seven fours and two sixes.
When Charles picked out Rovman Powell at point with left-arm spinner Shakib al Hasan in the tenth over, Fletcher anchored two more productive stands to frustration Tallawahs.
He added 59 for the second wicket with Watson who struck one four and five sixes in a 20-ball cameo, before holing out to backward point off Williams at 148 for two in the 16th over.
Fletcher then put on another 39 for the third wicket with David Miller who scored 13.
Needing a good start, Tallawahs instead saw Gayle’s nightmare run continue when he was taken at first slip by captain Darren Sammy off Johnson in the second over with 22 runs on the board.
The left-hander has scored 22 runs from his last four innings.
Walton, who struck seven fours, attempted to revive the innings in two partnerships, adding 35 for the second wicket with Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara (18) and 52 for the fourth wicket with Ross.
However, the required run rate crept up to nearly 20 with five overs remaining and Tallawahs found it difficult to keep up, especially after Walton holed out to long off in the 16th over off off-spinner Shane Shillingford.
