David Miller provided the finishing touch to St Lucia Zouks’ victory over defending Caribbean Premier League champions Trinbago Knight Riders on Wednesday night.
The fourth edition of the CPL got underway in the Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Wednesday night, with no fewer than 12 South Africans set to feature as the tournament unfolds. In the opener, Hashim Amla turned out for defending champs Trinbago, going toe-to-toe with Miller and Morne Morkel for the St Lucia Zouks.
Miller went into his debut CPL with big expectations on his shoulders. Not only was he second draft, but he filled the void left by Kevin Pietersen, who opted out of the spectacle. He has a big tournament ahead of him on a personal level as he looks to work his way back into the Proteas set-up, and he duly delivered in the opener, smashing 33 off 20 balls to help his side over the line.
The Knight Riders, featuring a side littered with international stars, posted 162-6 from their allotted overs. They will expect their top three to deliver the goods this season, but Brendon McCullum (12), Amla (26) and Colin Munro (11) struggled to push on in their innings. It was left to Darren Bravo, whose style is usually a patient and cautious one, to blast 63 from 44 balls to add to his century against the Proteas last week.
It was an expensive outing for Morkel. He took the key wicket of Dwayne Bravo to prevent an onslaught from him in the final two overs, but still went for 41 from his four.
In response Johnson Charles navigated Trinbago’s spin-orientated bowling attack with 52 off 38 balls, which laid the foundation for Miller to come in with seven overs remaining, and with the likes of veteran Michael Hussey and Darren Sammy by his side, he saw off the total with five balls remaining, smashing a boundary to complete the six-wicket victory.
Photo: CPL/SportsFile
