Tallawahs penalised for slow over-rate against Knight Riders
September 10
Jamaica Tallawahs have been penalised for maintaining a slow over-rate during their match against Trinbago Knight Riders, played in Port of Spain on September 6.
It was a minimum over-rate offence, with the Tallawahs found to be just one over short, and an "applicable monetary fine" - the amount of which wasn't disclosed - was imposed on Chris Gayle, their captain, while, according to the playing conditions, the team was penalised with a 0.05 reduction in their net run-rate.
Knight Riders won the game by 22 runs.
September 9
Imran Tahir re-joins Guyana Amazon Warriors
Imran Tahir will re-join the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL after one of their premier bowlers, Shadab Khan, had to cut his stay short. A press release from the tournament on Monday said the Pakistan legspinner had to return home "due to domestic commitments".
Tahir played for the Amazon Warriors in 2018 where he claimed 16 wickets at 17.75 as the team made it to the final. The 40-year old South African retired from international cricket after the World Cup but continues to be a force in franchise T20s, having picked up 19 wickets in 13 matches for Surrey in the Vitality Blast last month.
The Amazon Warriors added another leggie to their ranks with Afghanistan's Qais Ahmad replacing USA's Saurabh Netravalkar, who is unavailable due to international commitments.
September 7
Injured Dwayne Bravo ruled out for the season
Dwayne Bravo's finger injury has ruled him out of the entire CPL 2019. Bravo, part of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad, was initially ruled out for "a significant part" of the tournament, and the franchise decided to appoint Kieron Pollard as the captain before the season got underway.
However, while initially expected to play some part at a later stage, Bravo confirmed that the injury was severe enough to rule him out of the tournament altogether.
"The next aim for me is rehab to try to get my fingers moving again, it is going to be a long process...I will back playing competitive cricket in about two months' time," Bravo was quoted as saying by the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
Pollard, who like Bravo is from Trinidad and Tobago, will be turning out for his home franchise for the first time in the CPL. Trinbago have made a solid start to this edition, winning their first two matches.
Barbados Tridents bring in Duminy and Lalor for Wahab and Imad Wasim
Former South Africa batsman JP Duminy and Australian fast bowler Josh Lalor are set to join Barbados Tridents for the 2019 CPL season. The pair will replace Pakistan's Wahab Riaz and Imad Wasim, who had to leave for international commitments.
Duminy, a veteran of over 300 international matches across formats, will be making his first foray into the CPL, having previously played in T20 leagues in India, Pakistan, England and South Africa.
Lalor, a 31-year-old left-arm seamer, was one of Brisbane Heat's standout players in the 2018-19 Big Bash League, claiming a hat-trick against Perth Scorchers and a five-for against Sydney Sixers.
Lalor has an experience of 37 T20s for 42 wickets with an economy rate of 7.92.
Tridents will open their season against Guyana Amazon Warriors on September 9.
Malik confirms no fracture after taking Hetmyer shot in the hand
Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Shoaib Malik has confirmed he does not have a fracture on his hand after being struck by a Shimron Hetmyer shot at the non-stirker's end on Thursday. He was struck during the 11th over of Guyana's innings against St Lucia Zouks, but went on to bat and eventually be dismissed in the 16th over. Malik tweeted that he had undergone a scan and was healing, and that the 13-run win against the Zouks would "help heal quicker".
Just had a scan and Alhumdulilah it's not a fracture. The win will help heal quicker! Super well played boys, was good to see everyone stepping up like Warriors do. Congrats @chrisgreen_93 on the MOM. On to the next game! @GYAmazonWarrior #CPL19 #GAWvSLZ
— Shoaib Malik (@realshoaibmalik) September 6, 2019
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots penalised for slow over rate
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have been penalised for a slow over rate after their 11-run loss to Trinbago Knight Riders in the opening game of this year's CPL. A media release said the "applicable monetary fine" was imposed on the captain, Carlos Brathwaite, and the team was penalised with a 0.05 reduction in their net run rate. Patriots were charged with a breach of Article 2.5 of the CPL Code of Conduct as they were one over down. The charge was laid by match officials against Brathwaite, who accepted it.
Pollard replaces injured Bravo as Trinbago Knight Riders captain
Kieron Pollard will take over as captain of the Trinbago Knight Riders after Dwayne Bravo suffered a finger injury that could rule him out for a significant part of the upcoming Caribbean Premier League. Pollard had been picked as Trinbago's marquee pick is set to represent his home franchise for the first time in the tournament.
"It's a very unfortunate injury, and Dwayne Bravo will be greatly missed," Venky Mysore, director of Trinbago franchise, said. "However, we are fortunate to have someone of the calibre of Kieron Pollard to take over the reins from Bravo. His leadership abilities are well proven and, like Bravo, will bring a very aggressive style as captain in TKR's quest for a third championship in a row."
Trinbago will begin their campaign in the opening match of the tournament, against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Port of Spain on September 4.
Taufel to train CPL match officials
Simon Taufel, the retired Australian umpire, has joined the CPL match officials team in a dual role. He will be one of the travelling match referees during the tournament, and also serve as umpire trainer and assessor.
"Simon's resume speaks for itself, and we are happy that he will be sharing his vast experience and knowledge in support of our tournament umpires," CPL tournament operations director Michael Hall said. "Since June, in collaboration with Peter Nero, Cricket West Indies (CWI) Umpire Trainer and Assessor, he has been conducting remote training sessions with all CPL match officials, and this will culminate in a one-day seminar and workshop in Trinidad on September 3rd."
Taufel said he had "no hesitation" in accepting the assignment. "Quite apart from having always enjoyed being in the Caribbean, the opportunity to support the tournament by developing reporting processes and systems which will provide more robust feedback on the performance of all the umpires in the tournament was something which definitely appealed to me."
Jerome Taylor re-signs with Jamaica
Jamaica Tallawahs have roped in fast bowler Jerome Taylor as a replacement for Pakistani seam-bowling allrounder Ahmad Butt, who will be unavailable for the entire CPL 2019 because of domestic commitments. Taylor was more recently part of the Vitality Blast in England, taking 14 wickets in 13 games at an economy rate of 9.46 for Somerset. Taylor has also played for Jamaica in the CPL before, picking up 22 wickets in 21 matches at an economy rate of 7.93.
Jamaica will kickstart their CPL campaign against defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders on September 6 at the Queen's Park Oval.
August 30
West Indies' Lendl Simmons will replace New Zealand opener Colin Munro for the first three matches for Trinbago Knight Riders. Munro will be in Sri Lanka for the upcoming T20Is starting September 1 and Simmons will fill in for the CPL matches on September 4, 6 and 8.
This will be Simmons' fifth franchise in the CPL, having appeared for Guyana Amazon Warriors, St Lucia Zouks, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Jamaica Tallawahs, and the first time for his home franchise in Trinidad.
For the Patriots, Alzarri Joseph will replace Sri Lanka quick Isuru Udana, who will be unavailable for the entire CPL due to international commitments. Joseph has represented the Patriots since 2016 and is returning to competitive cricket since the arm injury he picked up during the IPL in April.
"It is always frustrating to lose players so close to the start of a tournament but in Alzarri we have a local player who is world-class and has a track record of success," Patriots director of cricket Robin Singh said. "As a very promising young fast bowler it is exciting to have Alzarri with us. We feel that the Patriots have a very strong squad this year and we are confident of making the knockout stages and pushing for our first title."
August 27
The Zouks announced a number of changes to their squad with Lasith Malinga to be replaced by Krishmar Santokie for the first two games and by Colin de Grandhomme for the remainder of the tournament.
Thisara Perera will miss the first two matches, to be replaced by Afghanistan's Najibullah Zadran whereas Niroshan Dickwella will miss the entire tournament to be replaced by Cameron Delport for the first two games and by Hardus Viljoen for the remaining matches.
South Africa's Beuran Hendricks is also no longer available due to international commitments and his place will be taken by Dominican allrounder Kavem Hodge.
August 20
For Tallawahs, Jamaica batsman Kennar Lewis will replace USA's Xavier Marshall who will be unavailable until September 14, also due to international commitments. Marshall was drafted as Tallawahs' ICC Americas player but draft rules allow for him to be replaced by a Caribbean or an overseas player.
Lewis will join Chris Gayle and Andre Russell at Tallawahs who will play their first game on September 6 against Knight Riders.