King, 23, relishes key role for Patriots

BATTING at the crucial number three position may be intimidating for some 23 year olds, but St Kitts and Nevis Patriots batsman Brandon King was ready for the challenge on Saturday, leading his team to a six-wicket win over Barbados Tridents in the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League in Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Chasing a modest 148 for victory, Patriots got off to a disastrous start with star batsman Chris Gayle falling for duck in the first ball of the innings. Evin Lewis continued his poor form, falling for one to leave Patriots in trouble on seven for two in the third over.

The Patriots have shown in this tournament that they are not only depending on Gayle to score solid totals.

On this occasion, King put the Patriots on his back with some support from Devon Thomas to rescue the innings. King scored 60 off 49 deliveries with four fours and five sixes.

King and Thomas started slowly, but eventually started playing with confidence which helped the Patriots to 148/4 in 18.5 overs after Tridents scored 147/6.

After the match, King was proud of his effort saying, “In the end (it was a good knock). I started very poorly, but fortunately I carried it back in the end. Got a couple big overs and that helped us get the run rate under control.”

The Jamaican King said when you bat at number three you have to be ready when an early wicket falls.

“Everybody has a role to play, batting at number three it is only natural that you would expect early wickets will fall, so you would expect to go in early (sometimes). I did not feel demotivated in anyway, it is just part of the job.”

King said Thomas played a crucial role, as the pair put on 88 runs for the third wicket. Thomas scored 32 off 29 balls.

“We needed a partnership at that time. It was very difficult (at first), but I think we stuck it out through the difficult period and it became easier after a while,” King said.

King did not necessarily want to spoil the Tridents first match at home, but said the Patriots are simply aiming to win matches.

He said, “We are looking to win every game, so it does not matter where we play whether it is home or away, but we are glad we got the win on the road and we can go home with some confidence now.”

The CPL is now into the second half of the competition and King wants the Patriots to play their best cricket when it counts the most.

He said, “This is the business end of the tournament, these last few games leading up to the playoffs. We are looking to have a strong home run.”

Patriots played their first five matches on the road earning three wins.

The team will now play their last five matches at home hoping for a place in the playoffs, which start on September 11.