Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

It was a more sedate Gayle this time around, scoring 72 not out off 54 balls, including six boundaries and two sixes, as Jamaica won with an over to spare.

Earlier, Santokie took 4-37 to restrict St Kitts-Nevis to 160-5, samuels hitting 50 from 31 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes, and Guptill labouring to 53 from 48 balls. Gayle received support from Chris Lynn, 52 from just 33 balls, including four sixes and three boundaries.

Shoaib Malik hit 51 from 34 balls, including five boundaries and a six, to lead Barbados to 148-8, Sammy and Roach taking two wickets each. Despite a 52 from 38 balls from Fletcher, St Lucia lost by 15 runs, thanks to Rayad Emrit's 3-20, and two wickets each for Robin Peterson and Jeevan Mendis.

It's been a busy weekend so I am only just catching up with my recordings of Friday's matches. Yes there were 34s from Lewis and guptill but not much else as Beaton took 3-39 and there were two wickets for devendra and Sunil. St Kitts were poor in the field as Simmons hit 41 from 33 balls and denesh ramdin 54 not out from 35 balls for Guyana to win by seven wickets with four overs to spare.

Pietersen with 73 off just 39 balls, including seven boundaries and four sixes, and Fletcher with 77 off 50 deliveries, including three boundaries and five sixes, powered St Lucia to 202-5 and a 30-run win over Barbados in their top-of-the-table clash. Jeevan Mendis took 3-33.

Holder, Pollard and Shoaib Malik all made 31s, but Sammy with 3-35 ensured that Barbados did not get close.

KP looks happier in St Lucia than I've seen him in a long time....

I'm just catching up with Saturday's recordings....

St Kitts gave Jamaica a right old thrashing...by 119 runs! First, Lewis finally came good, with 82 from just 45 balls, including six boundaries and six sixes, and there were 30s from Guptill and Carlos Brathwaite. Then, Cotterell (3-15) and Tabraiz Shamsi (4-23) wrecked the Jamaica innings.

In a low-scoring nail-biting affair, Trinidad beat Guyana by three wickets, with Cooper hitting the winning runs off the penultimate ball after Dev Bishoo committed the cardinal sin of bowling a no-ball. Simmons hit a run-a-ball 50, but there was not much else, as Dwayne Bravo took 4-18. Bishoo kept Guyana in the game with 4-24, while Kamran Akmal was Trinidad's topscorer with 30.

Spinners Shamsi (4-10) and Afridi (3-34) destroyed Barbados, for whom Pollard topscored with 49 from 33 balls. St Kitts then chased down the target, thanks to Samuels, who hit 71 not out from just 54 balls, and Guptill, who made 45.

A Gayle storm blew through Jamaica last night, as the hosts hammered St Lucia by nine wickets with four overs to spare. First, Pietersen hit 83 not out from 57 balls, but he did not receive much support, as Santokie took two wickets. And then Jamaica openers Chadwick Walton, 76 off just 48 balls, and Chris Gayle, 64 not out off just 42 balls, romped home to an easy victory.

Due to the underground strike and other issues, I'm only just catching up with my recordings....

Samuels hit 61 from 40 balls, against two wickets each from de Lange and Beaton, but it proved to be in vain, as Guyana won their rain-affected match on D/L by eight wickets. Fudadin hit a run-a-ball 43 not out, while veteran Brad Hodge hammered 61 not out from 36 balls, against Cottrell's two wickets.

I've just caught up with Thursday's match...and what a match it was!

In front of a massive crowd, including reggae dancehall stars Bennie Man and Bounty Killer, Chris Gayle hammered 105 from 57 balls, the first century of the 2015 CPL, including six boundaries and nine sixes, as Jamaica crushed Trinidad by 50 runs. Benn took two wickets, and Blackwood chipped in with 38.

In their turn at bat, only Kallis offered any resistance with 46 off 36, Santokie doing the damage with 3-27, and there were two wickets each for Jerome Taylor and Vettori.

I'm up to Friday now, and Sammy has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to a fractured hand, and Kevin Pietersen took over as captain of the St Lucia Zouks. But it was a losing start to his captaincy, as St Kitts won by 26 runs.

Dowrich and Guptill hit 30s, while Nathan McCullum took 4-22, and then Fletcher struck 59 off 43, but there was not much else, as Carlos Brathwaite finished with 3-40 and Afridi took two wickets to give the Patriots another home victory.

Trinidad beat St Kitts-Nevis by six wickets, thanks to the efforts of their bowlers. Dwayne Bravo took 4-29, and there were two wickets each for Badree and Botha, while the only home batsman to offer any resistance was Devon Thomas with 44. William Perkins then hit 64 not out from just 43 balls, including three boundaries and five sixes, and he received support from Delport with 38.

Barbados then beat Jamaica by 18 runs in a low-scoring match at Sabina Park. Pollard hammered 59 not out from 37 balls, while Russell and Theron took two wickets each. Robin Peterson then did the damage with 3-13, and there were two wickets for Holder, as Walton topscored with 46 and Nkrumah Bonner made 31.

On Sunday, Beaton took a remarkable four wickets for just nine runs to hand Guyana a massive 84-run win over Jamaica, and there were two wickets each for Narine and de Lange. Earlier, Brad Hodge hammered 65 not out from just 30 balls, and Fudadin made 54 from 43, while Simmons chipped in with 36 in a commanding performance for the visitors.

A pity about the rain....

On Tuesday, the rain reduced the match to a farcical nine-overs-a-side match, but that produced one of the few close encounters of this season's CPL. Despite an allround performance of 38 off just 19 balls and 3-15 from two overs from Kallis, Trinidad had a last-ball loss to St Lucia, for whom Johnson Charles hit 41 off 23 balls, and Delorn Johnson took two wickets.

Unfortunately, Wednesday's match between Jamaica and Guyana was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Wow, what an innings by Lil Bravo!

Baby Lara stroked his way to 80 not out from just 44 balls, including four boundaries and seven sixes, and he received support from Kallis with a run-a-ball 49. Then, Big Bravo took 3-16 and there were two wickets each for Badree and Derone Davis as Trinidad crushed leaders Barbados by 72 runs.

Narine bowled a phenomenal four overs and took three wickets for six runs as Guyana beat St Lucia by three wickets with more than two overs to spare in a low-scoring match at Providence. Then Keron Cottoy took 4-18 to make the chase a nervy one, but Simmons hit 31 and Ramdin 39 not out to see the hosts home.

I am watching some now and it says live but I don't think it is.

Kamran Akmal was just out but had been doing ok. He obviously plays how you would want him to when you give him big bucks.