Franchise Cricket

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Jason Holder starred with bat and ball as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots held off Barbados Royals to win by 12 runs in the Caribbean Premier League.

Patriots were struggling at 63-4 when Holder came to the crease but he made 38 from 21 balls to help them towards a respectable 174-8.

He shared 49 in 30 balls with Kyle Mayers, who top-scored with 42, while Abbas Afridi (16 from 10) and Naseem Shah (19* from 11) added late momentum.

Holder's first wicket came when he removed Brandon King with the penultimate ball of the powerplay to leave Royals 45-2.

They were well positioned at 80-2 in the ninth over but Navin Bidaisee struck in successive overs to remove Kofi James and Sherfane Rutherford.

From there Patriots squeezed with Naseem removing the dangerous Rovman Powell and Corbin Bosch, before Holder, who finished with 4-14, wrapped up the tail as Royals were bowled out for 162 in 18.2 overs.

The result lifts Patriots to second, but they have played as many as four games more than other sides. Royals are bottom with two defeats in two matches.

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Antigua and Barbuda Falcons held on to beat Trinidad Knight Riders by eight runs in the Caribbean Premier League.

Knight Riders needed 14 from the final over and Nathan Edward took a single from the first ball to get Kieron Pollard on strike.

He swung at fresh air from the next two deliveries, leaving 13 required from three balls.

The 38-year-old opted against a single from the fourth delivery, and thought two was unattainable, so kept the strike to try and earn a tie for Knight Riders.

However, he failed to connect cleanly with the fifth ball and could only hit to deep mid-wicket for another dot ball.

The legendary all-rounder managed a four from the final ball but could not prevent the eight-run loss with his unbeaten 43 as Knight Riders finished 159-6 in pursuit of 168.

Colin Munro top-scored with 44 from 18 balls, while Keacy Carty added 35. Obed McCoy removed both and England's Alex Hales as he claimed 4-39.

Falcons had earlier posted 167-6 with Fabien Allen making 45 off 20 and captain Imad Wasim an unbeaten 39.

The win puts Falcons top of the table with five points - but they have played four games - while Knight Riders are fifth with one win from two matches.

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Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and spinner Usama Mir have signed deals to play in the Caribbean Premier League.

Rizwan, 33, will join St Kitts and Nevis Patriots as a replacement for Afghanistan seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi who has international duty.

It will be the first time Rizwan has featured in the CPL.

Leg-spinner Mir, 29, has signed for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons and made his debut in their win over Trinbago Knight Riders on Wednesday night.

The pair have been left of Pakistan's squad for the tri-series against Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates and the Asia Cup that follows.

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Saint Lucia Kings held on to beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by three runs in a last-ball thriller in the Caribbean Premier League.

Jyd Goolie hit a six from the final ball of the 19th over to leave 13 required by the Patriots off the last six balls.

David Wiese's first delivery was hit for another six by Navin Bidaisee to swing the game in the Patriots' favour with seven needed from five.

Wiese followed up with a wide, but then only conceded two singles from the next four deliveries to leave four required from the last ball.

Former Namibia all-rounder Wiese missed his yorker but Bidaisee (50 off 36) picked out Tim David on the long-off boundary to leave the Patriots short in their chase of 201.

They were struggling at 61-4 but Bidaisee and captain Jason Holder (63 off 29) shared 67 to put them back in contention.

Kings had earlier posted 200-8 with Roston Chase making 61 off 38, Johnston Charles 52 off 28 and David 46 off 23.

The win takes Kings top of the table, after their first game was washed out, while Patriots are fifth with one win from four games.

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