1 week ago
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Sports Correspondent
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) bowls off tonight at Warner Park in St Kitts, with the home team, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, facing the Antigua Barbuda Falcons.
The Falcons are buoyed by the presence of all-rounder Joshua James, who has been cleared to bowl again after completing remedial work on his bowling action. The powerfully built medium pacer from Tobago was called during the Cricket West Indies T20 Breakout League while playing against the Barbados Pelicans on April 25 and the Rain Forest Rangers on April 26. A native of Back Hill in Whim, his suspension commenced in April, and he was cleared to resume his trade yesterday.
In accordance with CWI’s protocols, video footage and a written report were submitted to Loughborough University for independent analysis.
On April 28, the Opinion Report from the university’s Independent Assessor confirmed that James’ bowling action was illegal, with deliveries exceeding the permissible limit for elbow extension under ICC regulations.
As a result, he was suspended from bowling in all West Indies-sanctioned competitions and other domestic leagues globally.
Since then, James has undertaken an intensive period of remedial work under the supervision of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board.
Updated footage of his revised bowling action was submitted to Loughborough University on August 8, 2025. The latest Opinion Report confirmed that his action complies with the regulations and he has been cleared to resume bowling with immediate effect.
The Falcons also have in their lineup star West Indies pacer Jayden Seales, who they snapped up from Trinbago Knight Riders in the off-season.
The Patriots have named West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder as their new captain, taking over from hard-hitting batsman Andre Fletcher.
Joining the skipper from Barbados Royals is Alick Athanaze, who is expected to boost the batting.
In just their second season, the Falcons have only played the Patriots twice, splitting the two matches last year.
The Patriots go into action again on Friday against last year’s runners-up, the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The Warriors, who will be hosting the finals again this year, will not have openers Azam Khan or Saim Ayub this season, but they have in-form West Indies captain Shai Hope as first-choicewith Kemol Savoury as the other wicketkeeper-batsman.
Reigning first-time champions, the St Lucia Stars, will not have last year’s captain, Faf du Plessis, for their title defence, who opted to skip the tournament this year.
They will rely heavily on Tim David, Johnson Charles and Roston Chase to produce the runs for the likes of Alzarri Joseph, Matthew Forde and now Tabraiz Shamsi, who they acquired from the Patriots, to defend the totals this year.
Meanwhile, the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) winners of the CPL five times with victories their first title in 2015, followed by victories in 2017, 2018, and 2020, with their most recent title in 2021, will see action on Sunday against the Patriots.
They have brought in Pakistani left-arm pacer Mohammed Amir to replace Seales, and former captain Dwayne Bravo is now the head man on the bench.
The TKR will attempt to improve on their positions in the standings from last year when they finished third and played in the eliminator, where they were eliminated.
Darren Bravo, who returned to the Queen’s Park fold this season, is also back in the regional cricket system and is in the TKR squad this season. The left-handed batsman will join a batting lineup with the likes of England’s Alex Hales, Colin Munro of New Zealand and Nicholas Pooran.
TKR have filled the loss of star West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales with experienced Pakistani left-arm fast bowler Mohammed Amir. Amir will boost an attack with Akeal Hosein and Mohammed Ali Khan.
CPL STANDINGS 2024
POS*TEAM * PLD * PTS
1. GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS * 10 * 14
2. ST LUCIA KINGS * 10 * 14
3. TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS * 10 * 14
4. BARBADOS ROYALS * 10 * 10
5. ANTIGUA & BARBADOS ROYALS * 10 * 6
6. ST KITTS & NEVIS PATRIOTS * 10 * 2
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