GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Captain Brandon King has hailed the contribution of all-rounder Fabian Allen after the left-arm spinner dismantled St Lucia Kings in the first playoff game of the Caribbean Premier League on Tuesday night.
Allen produced a destructive spell of four for 25 which restricted Kings to a paltry 125 for nine off their 20 overs, and laid the foundation for Jamaica Tallawahs’ comfortable five-wicket win at the Guyana National Stadium.
“[I was impressed with] the entire bowling unit but obviously Fabian really came up trumps for us tonight,” King said.
“He bowled an incredible spell, got four wickets. It’s hard to do that in the last ten overs of a T20 game when guys are trying to be aggressive. [Praise] goes out to him, he had an incredible game.”
Allen’s first two overs cost 15 runs but his third over – the 16th of the innings – yielded the wickets of captain Sikandar Raza (19) and top-scorer Roston Chase (40) and ended a pivotal 29-run, sixth wicket stand between the pair.
In his final over, Allen prised out Matthew Forde (4) and Roshon Primus (5) to ensure there was no late revival.
Prior to Tuesday night, Allen had sent down only 12 overs in the tournament without a wicket, but King said his fellow Jamaican remained a trump card even though his contribution had been limited previously.
“It’s good that I have a lot of options. I’m fortunate as a captain to have such good bowling options in my team that he doesn’t always have to bowl,” King explained.
“I’m just happy that when he was called upon today (Tuesday) he came up trumps for us.”
The 28-year-old Allen, who has enjoyed a mixed tournament, said it was important “big players” stepped up when required.
“That’s what big players do. We’re already for the challenge and today was nice for me to execute,” Allen said.
With the win, Tallawahs advanced to tomorrow’s qualifier and await the loser of last night’s second playoff between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders.
King said his side would be prepared to face either side.
“It doesn’t matter [who we face]. I won’t give any particular team. We’re happy to face anybody and we’re prepared to face anybody.”
