CPL Associate Watch, Day 3: Saad’s in the game, Ali’s TKR take on Sandeep & Kirton’s Tallawahs

Two big reasons to watch today for fans of Canada Cricket, as both of their representatives in the CPL 2020 featured. Left arm orthodox, and GT20 star Saad Bin Zafar made his debut for the St. Lucia Zouks in the early game, and Nicholas Kirton got another shot in the top order for Jamaica in the late game. Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane’s stays in with the Tallawahs, and Ali Khan proves his worth again for TKR.

Saad Bin Zafar got the start today, opening the bowling for St. Lucia. The talented left arm orthodox all rounder gave up a boundary on the first ball of the game to Johnson Charles, but settled down and bowled 7 dots out of his remaining 11 balls. Saad ended with figures of 10 runs allowed over his 2 overs in the power play in St Lucia’s rain-shortened 7 wicket win over the favourites from Barbados.

“It was a joyous moment for me to play my debut game in CPL,” Saad told Emerging Cricket following the game. “I was a little nervous bowling the first over in the power play, but I kept reminding myself to stay calm and enjoy the moment rather than letting my nerves get the best of me.” With the entire competition happening over 23 days and across only two venues, it’s difficult to imagine Saad not getting more chances like he did today. Saad has proved effective everywhere he’s played, and is an excellent fit for these conditions.

The evening game saw Jamaica Tallawahs go head to head with Trinbago Knight Riders, and that means plenty of action from Associate players. Ali Khan once again shone brightly for TKR, striking twice in the power play. With the second ball of the game, Ali got Chadwick Walton to sky one just outside of the circle at fine leg for an easy catch. Four balls into his next over, Ali struck again, with Rovman Powell blooping his back of length delivery to mid-on where DJ Bravo sold out with a sprawling catch running in and to his right. This helped put Jamaica in a 21/3 hole after three overs, and Ali ended the game with figures of 4 overs, 25 runs and two wickets.

The Yorker Machine’s back of length bowling with the new ball has been deadly this season, and we look forward to covering his ample and well deserved chances.

If you’re going to have a rough day, you’d probably be happy to have a Sandeep Lamichhane rough day. The Nepali mystery spinner couldn’t do enough to fend off the TKR chase, but finished with a respectable line of 4 overs, 30 runs, and one wicket. Most bowlers will take those figures, but Sandeep isn’t most bowlers. After missing his length much more than usual, Sandeep finally struck in the 11th, stopping Sunil Narine from ending the game single handedly. Sandeep delivered full to leg stump, and Narine’s attempted sweep top-edged up to deep fine leg for a Brathwaite catch. Narine did plenty of damage and ended 53 off of 38, enough to send TKR on their way to a 7 wicket victory with 11 balls to spare.

Sandeep is one of the top mystery spinners in the world and isn’t likely leaving the eleven any time soon.

Canada’s Nicholas Kirton continues to struggle for the Tallawahs. The talented young batsman, in again at number 3, was out LBW for a golden duck to Trinbago’s young right handed flame thrower Jayden Seales. Bowling from over the wicket to the lefty, Seales fired in the ball of the game. Length delivery, pitched on middle stump, straighten back to middle and leg and got Kirton’s pad right at the top of the bails. Bad luck again for Kirton, but hopefully the short duration between games gives the youngster another quick chance to bounce back. Jamaica has the potential to be a playoff team, but will likely have to battle for a spot, so chances are never guaranteed.

Stay tuned for more coverage, as we await debuts from USA’s Jessy Singh (Guyana), Shayan Jahangir (Barbados), and Jason Persaud (Jamaica).

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