Kyle Mayers took 16 balls to score a solitary run for Barbados Royals against Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. He was dismissed off the 17th ball he faced, finishing with a strike rate of 5.88.

Prior to this encounter, Barbados Royals had set the CPL stage alight. They had won all their games and seemed to have most bases covered. Mayers, too, had been in sparkling form, having scored 285 runs at a strike rate of 165. With three fifties, he played a pivotal role as Barbados Royals went on a six-match winning streak. Each of those half-centuries came at a strike rate in excess of 150, highlighting that Mayers’ form was not something Barbados Royals had to worry about previously.

That, however, only makes his struggles against Jamaica Tallawahs even more incredible. On a slightly sluggish surface, Mayers was tied down by spin. He got off the mark off the 14th ball he faced, a misfield at short extra cover aiding his cause. The spinners bowled tight lines and denied Mayers width. Off-spinner Chris Green bowled eight balls to Mayers, off which the latter could manage a solitary run. He eventually holed out to long off, off left-arm spinner Imad Wasim.

Mohammad Amir, too, kept Mayers quiet, bowling six dot balls to him in succession during the powerplay. In the first over, Amir bowled four dot balls. Off the last ball of that over, Jamaica Tallawahs reviewed an lbw decision against Mayers, who had fallen across and played all around a yorker. However, the umpire’s original not out decision was upheld.

Barbados Royals recovered to an extent, largely courtesy of Quinton de Kock’s 43-ball 74. De Kock was supported his South Africa teammate David Miller, who chipped in with 34 off 27 balls. In the end, though, it was not enough as Jamaica Tallawahs won the game by six runs, with rain and the DLS method coming into play.

The defeat also snapped Barbados Royals’ winning streak. They still sit at the top of the points table, having won six out of their seven matches this season. However, they would hope that Mayers does not get stuck into a similar rut anytime soon, considering how crucial a cog he is at the top of the order.