Hero Caribbean Premier League brings top-tier cricket to Lauderhill – Sun Sentinel

Thousands of cricket fans were recently treated to a taste of the Caribbean at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League stepped up to bat with professional cricket play involving four teams as the Guyana Amazon Warriors took on the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots and the Jamaica Tallawahs faced off against the Barbados Tridents in a home and away series.

National pride was at stake as fans attended the action wearing supportive team colors and waving signs and flags. Lauderhill with its large Caribbean influence embraced the event with gusto.

The St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots gave their supporters plenty to cheer about as they came away with two victories over the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The Patriots took the Saturday afternoon match 132/3 over the Warriors 128/8 and came back the next day for a closely contested victory over the Warriors 124/6 to 123/7.

Patriots fans were treated to a strong performance in the second match by Carlos Brathwaite, who conceded only four runs and took three Warriors wickets. It was a dramatic come-from-behind win that shocked the dismayed Warriors fans.

Cricket fans were able to watch arguably the greatest batsmen in limited-overs cricket as the Patriots Chris Gayle's 66 runs guided the club to victory.

A large Jamaican fan base came out in force to root on the Jamaica Tallawahs, only to witness a batting collapse by the middle order and accurate bowling by the Barbados Tridents, who secured a 142-7 to 130-6 victory in the first match between the clubs.

The Tallawahs gained some retribution by avenging the earlier defeat with a 154-5 to 142-10 triumph over the Tridents to split their series.

Lauderhill's Central Broward Regional Park's 110-acre multipurpose facility has the only sanctioned international cricket stadium in North America, giving it the ability to attract international tournaments like the Hero Caribbean Premier League. Cricket is second only to soccer as the most watched sport in the world.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League put on six matches last year at the Lauderhill complex and returned for the recently contested four matches.

The league's communication and public relations director, Peter Miller, was pleased to be back in Lauderhill for another year.

"The support we have from Broward County and the City of Lauderhill has been second to none. It's fantastic," Miller said. "(Central Broward Regional Park) is such a great facility. The fans get to view some of the best cricket players in the world and the Jamaican fans got to celebrate their independence day here as well."

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Hero Caribbean Premier League brings top-tier cricket to Lauderhill - Sun Sentinel