McKenzie gleeful after match-defining knock in Kingsmen triumph

KIRK McKenzie says it “felt good” to express himself as his blistering 69 off 25 balls powered Jamaica Kingsmen to a five-wicket victory over Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) at Sabina Park on Saturday — the franchise’s first CPL win this season. The 25-year-old opener, batting in his preferred position at the top of the order, smashed six fours and as many sixes in his knock while sharing a 93-run opening stand with Reeza Hendricks to put the Kingsmen in control of the chase. They eventually sped to 183-5 with eight balls to spare.

McKenzie expressed satisfaction with his performance during the power play, noting he was at home in the opening position. It’s a position I’m used to so it was just for me to go out there and express myself,” the left-handed batsman said after being named Man of the Match. Sent in to bat, the Knight Riders made 182-6, with Captain Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard hitting 44 each.

In reply, McKenzie and Hendrick (37) tore into the TKR attack in the power play. But the momentum shifted briefly when Usman Tariq bowled McKenzie on the last ball of the seventh over, then removed Shayan Jahangir and Hendricks in quick succession. Pollard also had Keacy Carty for 11 to leave the Kingsmen at 126-4 in the 14th over.

That brought Rovman Powell and Russell together. The pair added 48 to steer the Kingsmen to safety. Russell made a quick 27 off 15 before falling, and Powell finished 29 not out as the Kingsmen reached the target in 18.4 overs.

McKenzie credited his opening partner, Hendricks, for playing well and maintaining a pressure-free environment during their stand. “I think he [Hendricks] played very well. I think we went about it how he wanted to, and there was no pressure on either of us so it was just playing games,” he noted in the post-match interview.

After losing the first two home games against Barbados Tridents and Guyana Amazon Warriors, McKenzie highlighted the importance of securing a win at Sabina Park to re-establish it as a “fortress” for the Jamaica franchise. We came in here and we said we wanted here to be like a fortress for us. We lost the first two games, and for us to just come back strong and finish on a high [was the goal],” he explained.