BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – All-rounder Kyle Mayers played two vital roles before rain intervened to create a tense finish as Barbados Royals kept St Lucia Kings winless with an 11-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method here yesterday.
Chasing 162 at Warner Park, Kings plunged to seven for four in the third over as Mayers blew away the top order with his brisk medium pace to finish with excellent figures of four for four from his two overs.
A half-hour rain break at 10 for four after four overs saw Kings being set a revised target of 103 from nine overs.
Captain Faf du Plessis then smashed a 20-ball unbeaten 47 and Alzarri Joseph, an 18-ball unbeaten 29, to make the finish more exciting than previously anticipated as last year’s losing finalists ended on 91 for four.
Man-of-the-Match Mayers had earlier top-scored with 36 from 23 balls while opening partner Rahkeem Cornwall belted a 17-ball 32 as Royals romped to 162 for seven after they were sent in.
The left-hander Mayers struck half-dozen fours and a six while Cornwall thumped five fours and a six, the pair posting 49 from 29 deliveries for the first wicket.
Mayers added a further 27 for the second wicket with Azam Khan (10) who put on 28 for the third wicket with South African Quinton de Kock (24) before Royals lost four wickets for 18 runs in 20 balls.
Captain David Miller arrived to hit two sixes in an unbeaten 24 from 15 balls in a 34-run, seventh wicket stand with Jason Holder (15) to give Royals late acceleration.
Mayers then hurt Kings as early as the first over, removing Johnson Charles’s middle stump before having Mark Deyal skying to square leg without scoring.
The 29-year-old Mayers followed up with another two wickets in his second over, bowling Roston Chase (2) with a full length delivery and then getting Roston Primus (0) to drill to cover.
With the innings in shambles at the rain break, Kings took real aim at the revised target afterwards, du Plessis lashing two fours and four sixes and Joseph, a couple of fours and sixes, but the effort fell short of what was required.
