Fabian Allen does the trick as Barbados lose again

Barbados had already been knocked out of contention for a place in the play-offs of the tournament, but Jason Holder’s side would still have been looking for something to go away with. That wasn’t to be in Basseterre on 4 September, as they were first restricted to 168/5 and then saw Allen smash 64* in 34 balls to take the Patriots over the line with two balls in hand.

Asked to bat first, Barbados started slowly but steadily, with Dwayne Smith scoring 26 in 25 balls before being undone by Tabraiz Shamsi after a 45-run stand with Sunny Sohal, the Indian export.

Sohal also didn’t last long, being dismissed for a run-a-ball 17 by Mahmudullah, and the wickets kept falling even as Nicholas Pooran kept one end up for the longest time with his 44 in 32 balls. The big runs came late in the script when Roston Chase hit 38* in 28 balls and Jason Holder, the captain, got 30* in 11 balls.

South African left-arm wrist-spinner Shamsi, playing his first CPL 2018 game, was outstanding with returns of 2/16.

The Patriots reply was also steady without being spectacular, Pakistan paceman Mohammad Irfan playing a key role with three strikes to keep them under control. It really took off only after Allen came in following the fall of the fifth wicket at 73 after nine overs.

With the bottom order for company, Allen, the 23-year-old Jamaican playing just his second CPL 2018 game and getting a bat for the first time, smashed a match-winning 64* from 34 balls, with six fours and four sixes, to take Patriots home.

It was the Chris Gayle-led side’s last league game, and they finished on 11 points, temporarily on top ahead of Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors, who both have 10 points but three games in hand too.

“I stuck to my plan and executed. I always had the belief in me. This is my best innings. I told Alzarri (Joseph, his partner for a while at the end) to keep giving me strike. I don't have words to say, it's a wonderful feeling,” said a visibly thrilled Allen.

Asked if Allen coming in and making such a difference posed selection headaches for his team ahead of the play-offs, Gayle said, “There's no headache if we get a win. I am happy. Credit to Fabian Allen. Good to have a set batsman and he took it on to win the game for us. He's been hungry to go out there and perform.”

Barbados, with just four points from nine games, never quite got going all competition, and will now finish up with a game against Trinbago. “I felt it was a better team effort, but unfortunate to lose this way. Fabian was outstanding and all credit to him,” said Holder.

Bowling the last over, with Patriots 17 runs from victory, was Dominic Drakes, a 20-year-old left-arm pacer playing his first game of the season. Allen went bang-bang-bang, hitting 6, 6 and 4 to level the scores before completing the win with a leg-bye.

“It was tough on the youngster to come in and bowl the last over. Didn't perhaps execute his plans – it’s normal for any youngster. I am sure he will learn and go a long way. In tough situations, we got to back ourselves more. We didn't make enough runs in the tournament and were a bit floppy in the field.”

For the Patriots, it’s the play-offs next. “We still have a lot of areas to work. We move to Guyana next and can't lose any game. It's a knockout for us from here,” pointed out Gayle. “We get a bit of time to reflect before the next game. I want to hold the trophy and, hopefully, we will bring it home.”