Watch: Rahkeem Cornwall with the bat drop after CPL century, leads Royals to win over Patriots

Cult hero cricketer Rahkeem Cornwall has scored one of the greatest Caribbean Premier League knocks of all time and had the celebration to boot.

The Barbados Royals allrounder scored a blockbusting 102 off just 48 balls, featuring 12 sixes and four fours while chasing 221 runs set by the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

The 30-year-old brought up his century - the second of CPL 2023 - with a single to long-on, after smashing the previous ball for six straight over the bowler’s head. His celebration was calm and cool, with a bat drop and pump of the fist. However, Cornwall wasn’t able to see the Royals home and retired hurt an over after his century.

The Royals defeated the Patriots by eight wickets with 11 balls remaining in the match.

Earlier in the Twenty20 match, the Patriots brought up an impressive score of 220/4, highlighted by Sherfane Rutherford’s 65 and Andre Fletcher’s 56. With the ball in hand, Cornwall grabbed two wickets for 27 runs, including the scalp of Fletcher.

After the match, Cornwall said the pitch was “really good” and dedicated his knock to his sons.

“Today is my son’s birthday. I dedicate my hundred to my two sons; they back me from day one. I always back myself to give the team a good start. [The crowd] keep me going, especially every time I hit a six, they cheering hard. I just had to give something to them to cheer about. I think once I got past the half stage, I think I could go big. I would say thanks for the support [to the fans] and thanks to my family.”

Cornwall, an imposing figure at 140kg, is one of the most exciting players in the game - but he’s also prone to some shocking blunders.

In 2019, Cornwall delivered some breathtaking hitting at the top order in that year’s CPL for the St Lucia Zouks.

But running between the wickets isn’t his specialty, as his team quickly found out. While opening the batting for the Zouks in their match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, Cornwall was forced to run a quick single and was caught out when he refused to slide his bat as he ambled between the wickets.

His bails were whipped off at the striker’s end, and after the decision was sent upstairs, it was confirmed that Cornwall didn’t ground anything behind the crease when the stumps were broken.

Cornwall was out on six.

Meanwhile, after suffering their heaviest Twenty20 defeat to England two days ago, the Black Caps have responded with their largest win over their rivals with a 74-run victory in the third match at Edgbaston.

The New Zealand men were down and almost out in the series after losing the opening two encounters, including a 95-run defeat in Manchester, their loss biggest in terms of runs against England. But they’ve ensured a shot at a shared series after an impressive batting display with two players largely responsible.

Finn Allen’s 53-ball 83 at the top of the order along with 69 from 34 balls from Glenn Phillips helped the Black Caps score 202-5 and set England an imposing target to take a 3-0 lead in the four-match series.

Between them, Allen and Phillips hit 11 sixes and put on 88 for the third wicket as New Zealand passed the 200 mark for the 18th time in T20s - five of which have been in the last 15 months.

Luke Kirkness is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.