T20 World Cup 2022 winning team’s opener Alex Hales became the first England batter to score a century in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history. Hales' unbeaten 119 followed by a clinical bowling display helped Jamaica Tallawahs beat Saint Lucia Kings by a big margin of 122 runs at Providence Stadium, Guyana on September 17.
The previous-highest score by an England batter in CPL belongs to Kevin Pietersen. The former England skipper had scored an unbeaten 83 in CPL 2015.
After Kings skipper Sikandar Raza won the toss and opted to bowl first, Hales got Jamaica off to a blazing start. His opening partner Kirk McKenzie struggled to rotate the strike and departed after scoring just three runs from 12 balls. Steven Taylor could not do much either and departed after scoring 14 runs. At the halfway stage, they were 71/2. Shamarh Brooks departed early as well. Hales reached his half-century from 32 balls.
In the 14th over, he hit Roston Chase for three consecutive sixes. In the 15th over, he reached his century from just 47 balls. Imad Wasim played a cameo of 24-ball 41. Jamaica posted 201/5 on the board. Hales remained unbeaten for 119 runs from 57 balls. His knock featured 12 fours and seven sixes.
Kings' run chase was dented early by Mohammad Amir's double blow in the third over. Chris Green did not let Kings off the hook and picked up four wickets. After a run out and Hayden Walsh chipping in with a wicket, Wasim mopped up the tail to bowl out Kings for 79 in 15 overs.
“If I had the answer on what was different today, I’d be a lot more consistent. I was a lot more positive today, connecting them off the middle, and had a little bit of luck as well. Match-ups are important, there was a small boundary and two offies bowling so I gave myself a good chance to score,” ‘Player of the match’ Hales said in the post-match presentation.
The former England opener lauded skipper Wasim for his all-round show as he said, “He’s getting better each year, one of the best all-rounders in the current game. There were a few group games where we were timid, but now we’ve got our chest out playing positively.”
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