Khary Pierre: St Lucia CPL franchise showing me love

KHARY Pierre has been a consistent spinner over the past two seasons for the newly crowned Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) champions St Lucia Kings. The Trinidadian said he has felt the love from the franchise and the people of St Lucia.

Pierre had a few successful years with the Trinbago Knight Riders before making the switch to the Kings. The left-arm spinner kept batsmen quiet during the tournament as he only conceded 7.40 runs per over in nine matches and grabbed seven wickets. Kings captain Faf du Plessis trusted Pierre, as he often threw him the ball to open the bowling.

In 2023, Pierre bagged nine wickets in seven matches for the Kings at an economy rate of 6.93.

Pierre is also an excellent fielder, completing nine catches to finish the 2024 tournament second in the category. He tied with Guyana Amazon Warriors player Shimron Hetmyer and behind leader Rovman Powell (11), skipper of the Barbados Royals.

Speaking to Newsday at the Guyana National Stadium following the final against Guyana Amazon Warriors on October 6, Pierre said he is relishing his time in St Lucia.

"It means a lot (to be here)...(Kings coach Daren) Sammy said he wanted me for a while and for him to welcome me with open arms (is great) – the whole franchise, the whole of St Lucia. They showed me a lot of love. So I am thankful for the opportunity and I am just happy for Sammy and the rest of guys who have been here for so long and finally won a title."

Pierre was instrumental in the win in the final, grabbing 1/21 in four overs to restrict the Amazon Warriors to a modest 138/8 in 20 overs, batting first.

"We all know once we start good (and) get some crucial wickets in the powerplay we know we could stifle the batsmen. We have the trump card in Noor (Ahmad) and I was just trying to play my role and it came out tonight, so I am happy." Ahmad, also a left-arm spinner, finished the tournament with the most wickets (22).

Pierre credited the entire coaching staff for their work behind the scenes. "The coaching staff led by Sammy, and the analyst Ave (Avenesh Seetaram), I think they did a really good job.

"It is just about going out and executing, so it was very easy for me to go out and do my skills."

Pierre described the Kings' style of cricket as fearless.