The Caribbean Premier League 2016 kicked off on July 30th with the Trinbago Knight Riders taking on the St Lucia Zouks at the Queens’ Park Oval, Trinidad. Season 4 of the CPL promises to be better and much bigger than any of the previous CPL seasons. Former Australian Test cricketer, Tom Moody believes that this will be the most competitive CPL yet, and one cannot argue with him because of the presence of players like AB De Villers, Faf Du Plessis and Brendon McCullum, taking part in this edition of the CPL.
This year the CPL has an Indian connection too. Owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment have bought a share of CPL franchise, Trinbago Knight Riders, formerly known as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
David Miller’s St. Lucia Zouks started the campaign with a win against defending champions Tobago Knight Riders. The Zouks have a solid squad with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson as their key player. Miller will add firepower in the depth and South African pacer, Morne Morkel will spearhead their attack. They are currently top of the table, with 2 points and a net run-rate of +0.457.
Guyana Amazon Warriors started their campaign with a close win over St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Kiwi opener, Martin Guptill, will captain the side, and will open the innings with Dwayne Smith. The opening combo will look to capitalise on the powerplay over, while Australian youngster, Adam Zampa, who took 6/19 in the recently concluded IPL, will be their key man in the bowling department. The Warriors are second in the table, with 2 points and a run-rate of +0.119.
St Kitts and Nevis started off against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, and missed out on a win, after the close encounter. South African, Faf Du Plessis will captain the Patriots and will be their key man in the tournament. No.1 T20 bowler, Samuel Badree, will lead their bowling department, while explosive all-rounder and World Cup finals hero, Carlos Brathwaite, will help score quick runs and take crucial wickets. They are 5th in the table with 0 points and a run-rate of -0.119.
Defending champions, Trinbago Knight Riders, have a lot of firepower with the likes of Brendon McCullum, Sunil Narine, and “champion” Dwayne Bravo in their squad. The Knight Riders, formerly known as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, had an impressive campaign last year and has added Dwayne Bravo to the squad, as their captain. KKR’s Kiwi import, Colin Munro, and Bravo’s younger half-brother, Darren Bravo, will be crucial for the Tobago’s. They kicked off their campaign with a defeat against the Zouks. They are currently bottom of the table with 0 points and a Net Run Rate of -0.457.
Let's take a look at the points table of CPL 2016:
| Pos. | Name | P | W | L | Pts. | NRR |
| 1 | Jamaica Tallawahs | 8 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 1.502 |
| 2 | Guyana Amazon Warriors | 8 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 0.017 |
| 3 | St Lucia Zouks | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -0.05 |
| 4 | Barbados Tridents | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -0.184 |
| 5 | Trinbago Knight Riders | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -0.102 |
| 6 | St Kitts and Nevis Patriots | 8 | 1 | 7 | 2 | -1.022 |
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
