Barbados Royals win successive WCPL titles while defending their championship title with 5 overs to spare
Barbados Royals retained their title in style-fighting to a four-wicket victory over Trinbago Knight Riders for a 2024 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League win.
The final was played on 29th August 2024 at Tarouba’s Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad. Indeed, these have kept the fans of the entire region glued to their screens for high-intensity cricket.
The Royals carried the fabulous win from the 2023 WCPL against Guyana Amazon Warriors into the 2024 season. The Royals posted a respectable total of 169 runs in the final, where Hayley Matthews was brilliant, hitting 82 runs in the previous year’s final, while Shabnim Ismail was equally brilliant with the ball as she returned figures of 4 wickets to help the Royals win by 8 runs in an exciting finish.
Coming from that success, the Royals were full of confidence entering into the 2024 season. The Royals called the toss right in their final against the Trinbago Knight Riders and opted to bowl first, a decision which truly paid well, considering how the Royals bowlers held the Knight Riders back to a total of 93 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. It was off-spinner Aaliyah Alleyne, though, who stole the show with 4/21 to place the Royals in a high-class spot.
Chasing in their run, an initial blow of 6 wickets came to the Royals, but Sri Lankan international Chamari Athapaththu anchored the innings with an unbeaten 39 runs to help her side win in 15 overs with five overs to spare. There it was, out in the open for everyone to see, as the Royals won their second successive WCPL title in a cool manner.
The Barbados Royals were consistent throughout the competition, topping the group stage points table. These titles not only have established them as a powerhouse in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League but also highlighted that, slowly, women’s cricket was getting competitive and popular in the Caribbean region. The future of women’s cricket looks bright in this region as they celebrate their latest triumph, with the WCPL continuing to gain attention and inspire the next generation of cricketers.
Just like the 2023 final, the final of the 2024 season is one that features a team effort, strategic smarts, and resilience that define the Royals on their journey to claiming the mantle of champions in Caribbean women’s cricket.
