Jamaica Tallawahs comprehensively beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to clinch their second Carribean Premier League title and thus established themselves as the Carribean T20 league’s most successful team in its four-year history. Criticised from some quarters for being scheduled when the national side is facing-off against India in a four-match Test series, the CPL had the final laugh though with the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell lighting up the T20 tournament with their superb performances.
A number of international players also added to the Carribean flavour with the likes of Shane Watson, Brendon McCullum and Kumar Sangakkara joining in after their recent retirement from international cricket. Established players overshadowed the upcoming talent but there were still quite a few who made their cases for a bright future.
With the tournament done and dusted for the year, let’s take a look at the 2016 CPL Team of the Tournament.
1. Chris Gayle (Jamaica Tallawahs)
Leading the Tallawahs to their second CPL title, the fourth edition of the T20 tournament turned out to be a true reflection of Gayle as a cricketer with the 36-year-old often switching on his famous destructive demeanour but also struggled at times to get the scoreboard ticking. Still, Gayle managed to score 425 runs from 13 matches, including an unbeaten knock of 108 against Trinbago Knight Riders which came off just 54 balls.
Overall, Gayle scored his runs at a strike rate of above 150 and just his sheer presence proved to a detractor to the opposition bowlers at times. He finished as the third highest run-scorer in the tournament.
2. Johnson Charles (St Lucia Zouks)
The 27-year-old is already St Lucia’s second most favourite cricketer after Darren Sammy and if he continues to perform as well as he did in the 2016 CPL he will give himself a good chance of bridging that huge gap that exists in terms of popularity now. After a decent start to the season, Charles peaked at the right time, making good use of the home conditions to score 341 runs at an average of 56.83 over the final seven games of the season.
Not only did he see himself surge to the second spot in the run-getters list for the fourth edition of the CPL with 441 runs, St Lucia rode on the good starts provided by Charles to make it to the CPL playoffs for the first time in their history.
3. Chris Lynn (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
After struggling in the third edition of the CPL, scoring just 187 runs in nine innings, the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ decision to sign the Australian batsman came as a bit of a surprise but the talented 26-year-old showed remarkable application this time around to end up as the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 454 runs.
He might have fallen at the final hurdle against his former side but the way Lynn built up his innings on most occasions was a lesson in itself that T20 cricket is not all about slam-bang cricket but that there are opportunities in abundance for players who show patience and the skill to anchor the team around him.
4. Colin Munro (Trinbago Knight Riders)
Not much was expected form Colin Munro after being signed up by the Trinbago Knight Riders for a modest sum of $30,000 but the New Zealander managed to surpass expectations and with his century against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, he created history by becoming the first overseas player to score a century in the CPL.
The defending champions might have had a disappointing campaign overall, finishing fourth in the points table, but Munro proved to be a silver lining with 382 runs at a healthy strike rate of just above 144.
5. Kumar Sangakkara (Jamaica Tallawahs)
The Sri Lankan legend might not have made a big impact compared to his own lofty standards but the 38-year-old still managed to make it to the Team of the Tournament as the wicketkeeper-batsman, edging out Barbados Tridents’ Nicholas Pooran.
The stylish left-handed batsman scored 297 runs from 13 innings for the champions and more often than not it was a case of the T20 specialists in the Jamaica Tallawahs side outshining the legend who is clearly well past his prime.
6. Andre Russell (Jamaica Tallawahs)
To say that Andre Russell has been having an eventful month or so would be an understatement. He has been courted controversy with his missed dope tests while he also got married during the course of the CPL but on the field, the 28-year-old swept aside all the distractions – good and bad – to show yet again why he is one of the most sought after players in the various T20 leagues across the globe.
286 runs at an astonising strike rate of 172.28 is enough to warrant a place in any T20 side as a pure batsman but he adds tremendous value to the team with his all-round skills as he showed picking up 11 wickets. He hit a timely century in the eliminator against Trinbago Knight Riders and could have wreaked further damage if only he had got the opportunity with the bat more often.
Russell deservedly picked up the Player of the Series award to cap off a very memorable tournament.
7. Shane Watson (St Lucia Zouks)
Having retired from all forms of all international cricket, the Australian veteran all-rounder has managed to keep himself fresh and proved to be a big success in his first ever season in the CPL. Representing St Lucia Zouks, Watson managed to sustain himself in the Top ten list for both the leading run-getters as well as the highest wicket takers in the tournament.
His 287 runs came at a strike of above 150 and while he was on his usual expensive side with the ball, Watson picked up a few crucial wickets to warrant himself a place in the Team of the Tournament.
8. Dwayne Bravo (Trinbago Knight Riders)
Bravo’s magic with the ball, especially with his slower bowlers, still continues to be a mystery as he yet again proved his credentials as a death-overs bowler. An economy rate of 8.42 is far from desirable but he more than made up for it finshing up as the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 21 scalps.
A bowling average under 20 is always desirable in the T20 format but Bravo himself would have been disappointed by the fact that he couldn’t make much contributions with the bat for the defending champions.
9. Sohail Tanvir (Guyana Amazon Warriors)
The Pakistan fast bowler finished second behind Bravo with 20 wickets but with his dismissals coming at a miserly average of 14.85 and with an economy rate of 6.45, Tanvir was arguably the best bowler of the tournament.
He led his side’s march to the final but wads left helpless aghainst the rampant Jamaica Tallawahs side but Tanvir can be very pleased with his contributions as he continues to pursue his dream of representing his national side yet again.
10. Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders)
He might not prove as lethal as he was once was ever again, but Sunil Narine has managed to reinvest himself after getting used to his remodelled action. The opposition batsmen are the ones who will now need to ghet used to the mysterious spinner who was at his miserly best with an economy rate of just 5.55.
as well as building up the pressure allowing his fellow teammates to pick up wickets, Narine himself picked up 14 wickets from 12 matches to show that he still has it in him to make a comeback to his best days.
11. Kesrick Williams (Jamaica Tallawahs)
The 26-year-old might not have even played in the CPL this season before being signed up by Jamaica Tallawahs in as late as the 13th round of bidding for a sum of just $5,000 but with 17 wickets from 13 matches, Kesrick Williams proved to the biggest success story of this edition of the CPL.
He led the champions run to the final overshadowing the likes of Andre Russell and Shakib-al-Hasan and was the one who dismissed the dangerous Sohail Tanvir in the final to all but secure the title in favour of Chris Gayle’s side.
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