In a first, following the introduction of new rules in the Caribbean Premier League this year, St Lucia Stars were punished for slow over rate by having their net run rate docked. The Stars, captained by Kieron Pollard, completed their bowling innings against Jamaica Tallawahs in 94 minutes: nine minutes longer than the permissible 85. As a result, their net run rate was reduced by 0.15.
The new rule punishes teams that fail to complete their 20 overs in the allotted 85 minutes, after taking into account all allowances for stoppages. In accordance with that, Stars were deemed to be two overs short. The first over results in a docking of 0.05 from the team's NRR, with each following over reducing the NRR by 0.10.
The Stars ended up losing the match by 21 runs. This latest penalty adds to their woes in what has been a wretched CPL season, where they are currently bottom of the table. They also have, by some distance, the worst net run rate in the competition, which has now been exacerbated by this latest penalty.