CPL 2026: Matthew Ford and Joshua Bishop help St Lucia Kings survive rain-hit thriller against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons
Matthew Ford’s four-wicket blast and a decisive late boundary from Joshua Bishop helped St Lucia Kings past Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by three wickets in a rain-affected CPL 2026 clash at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. With this result, the Kings rose to the top of the points table and gave them their second victory this season.
She was put to bat, and the Falcons were rocked early by Forde, who struck out two runs in the second. Evin Lewis fell for one before Tim Robinson departed on the first ball, leaving Antigua and Barbuda at 6 for 2. Ford then took on Rahkeem Cornwall, who briefly threatened with a 17-ball 26 that hit four fours and two sixes along the way.
Tajinder Dillon and Amir Django tried to rebuild, but the Falcons never found the momentum needed to put up a big total. Joshua Bishop removed Dillon, while Roston Chase scored twice as Antigua and Barbuda fell to 47 for 6 in the eighth over.
Jangoo’s 23 off 22 and Alzarri Joseph’s 16 gave the unbeaten Falcons nothing to work with, but they were eventually restricted to 98 for 9 off 19 overs. Ford finished with 4 for 29, while Chase returned excellent figures of 2 for 7 from four overs. Bishop also took two wickets for 16.
Then Ren intervened and turned the hunt for the kings into a complicated matter. The initial revised target was 84 from 15 overs before another interruption brought it down to 52 from eight overs.
Even with the goal down, the Kings did a hard job of chasing down. Roston Chase was dismissed for 1, Andres Goss made 7 and Akeem August and Joel Andrew departed cheaply. Sharith Asalanka and Darun Nadd also fell in quick succession, leaving Saint Lucia reeling at 21 for 6.
Ford briefly provided momentum with an 11-ball 11, including a six, but his dismissal of Shamar Springer left the Kings trailing by seven balls with the ending still uncertain. Springer was the Falcons’ most successful bowler, taking 3 for 13 from his two overs, while Joshua James took two wickets.
With running needed at close range, Shadley van Schalkwyk and Bishop maintained their composure. Van Schalkwyk scored an unbeaten 8 off just three balls, including a six. There were still eight players to go to the final over and the decisive moment came when Bishop drilled Joshua James’ full toss at mid-off for four. After two dot balls that included a backwards review that showed no bat, Bishop got a cross from Joshua James and cut the ball over deep backward point for a six. The Kings finished 54 for 7 after 7.4 overs to complete a three-wicket win under the DLS method.
Abbreviated degrees: Antigua and Barbuda Falcons 98/9 in 19 overs (Rakim Cornwall 26; Matthew Ford 4-29, Ruston Chase 2-7) lost to St Lucia Kings 54/7 in 7.4 overs (Joshua Bishop 12*; Shamar Springer 3-13) by 3 wickets [DLS Method]
