Patriots’ Fielding Woes Cost Them Ninth Straight Defeat
Andre Fletcher, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain, expressed his disappointment after his team’s ninth consecutive defeat in the CPL 2024, this time at the hands of Trinbago Knight Riders in Tarouba. The Patriots’ fielding woes continued to haunt them, as they dropped Pooran four times, allowing him to chase down a target of 194 with an unbeaten 93 off 43 balls.
According to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, the Patriots dropped a staggering 23 catches throughout the tournament, costing them several games. “The guys [bowlers] executed well, but dropping five catches in a crucial game, especially a world-class player like Pooran… we dropped 28 catches in the tournament,” Fletcher lamented. “As a fielding team, it’s poor, way below poor. It actually cost us a lot of games, which we lost.”
Despite the Patriots’ dismal performance, Fletcher praised his teammates for their camaraderie and support. “Knowing that it was a bit hard and tough for us losing, but tried to keep the team together as much as possible,” Fletcher said. “We had a lot of team-bonding activities. Yes, as much as we weren’t showing it on the field, but sometimes when teams lose, you tend to have a lot of bickering in the team, but we never had that. We stuck together and we gelled as a team and it’s just sad that the result didn’t show. But I must say that we stick as a family.”
Fletcher also apologized to the St Kitts and Nevis fans for the team’s poor performance. “Just want to apologize to the St Kitts and Nevis fans. I know you guys are hurt, so am I. Unfortunately we didn’t get it well this year, hopefully, next year it will be better.”
On a personal note, Fletcher had a productive tournament with the bat, scoring 318 runs in ten innings at an average of 31.80 and strike rate of just under 150. Along the way, Fletcher became the highest run-getter in the history of the CPL, but Johnson Charles, whose team has made the playoffs, has a chance to surpass him.
“I’m very pleased, to be honest, [with my batting],” Fletcher said. “People tend to remember the last thing you do. I really wanted to come out here and show what I’m worth. I’m happy to put on a great total for the team but unfortunately we didn’t get over the line. But that’s how cricket goes at times.”
