Aaliyah Alleyne’s four helps Barbados Royals defend WCPL crown

Barbados Royals 94 for 6 (Athapaththu 39*, Ramnath 2-18) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 93 for 8 (Pandey 28, Glasgow 24, Alleyne 4-21, Matthews 2-13) by four wickets

A four-wicket haul from fast-bowling allrounder Aaliyah Alleyne paved the way for Barbados Royals’ second Women’s Caribbean Premier League title. In a low-scoring final, Royals restricted Trinbago Knight Riders to 93 for 8 before overhauling the target with five overs to spare. Royals were the defending champions and finished runners-up in the inaugural WCPL in 2022.

After being asked to bat, TKR started on the right note with captain Deandra Dottin – back in West Indies’ squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 after reversing her international retirement – smacking a six off Chinelle Henry in the opening over. But things went down south for them after Royals’ skipper Hayley Matthews got one to sneak in through Dottin in the second over. Henry then dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues, who ensured TKR’s qualification with a half-century in the previous outing, caught and bowled for just two.

Opening the batting in place of Harshitha Samarawickrama, who was left out, Jannillea Glasgow then added 43 for the third with Shikha Pandey, who was promoted to No. 4. The introduction of Alleyne in the 12th over changed the course of the game. She struck on her first ball to have Glasgow miscue one to mid-off before cleaning up Pandey in her next over.

Alleyne’s double-wicket 16th over, where she dismissed Chedean Nation and Zaida James within four balls, brought TKR to a screeching halt. Three of her four wickets broke the batters’ stumps, and she achieved that by constantly keeping the stumps in play.

Chasing 94 for back-to-back titles, Royals raced off inside the powerplay with Chamari Athapaththu being the aggressor. She struck three consecutive fours off Jess Jonassen in the fourth over and then a further three off Shamilia Connell in the penultimate over of the powerplay, at the end of which, Royals were 48 for 0.

Offspinner Samara Ramnath, TKR’s leading wicket-taker in WCPL 2024, then dismissed Matthews – caught by a diving Dottin at backward point. A few overs later, Connell pulled off an athletic catch at long-on to get rid of Qiana Joseph for Ramnath’s second wicket. A couple of balls after taking a catch to dismiss Alleyne at long-on, though, Connell landed on the boundary cushion in an attempt to catch a Laura Harris hit and hurt her ankle. She had to be stretchered off, and the West Indies management will be monitoring her recovery since she is part of the T20 World Cup squad.

Despite losing three wickets for two runs in the middle, Athapaththu kept at it and sealed Royals’ win in the 15th over to set the celebrations off. The result was fitting for Royals, who lost only one match this season. Matthews was the Player of the Tournament, thanks to a chart-topping 11 wickets and the second-most runs in WCPL 2024.