The Caribbean Premier has started with the St Lucia Zouks emerging victorious against the Trinbago Knight Riders, winning by 6 wickets in the opener. The Zouks picked up wickets at regular intervals and restricted the Knight Riders to a total of 162 and ended up chasing the target comfortably with 5 balls to spare. West Indian Darren Bravo registered the first fifty for this season, scoring 63 runs in just 44 deliveries setting the tone for the tournament.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will face off the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second game of the CPL. The game will take place at the Basseterre in St Kitts. New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill will captain the Amazon Warriors for this season while the South African Faf du Plessis will captain the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
Probable Playing XI:
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots:
Batsmen:
Skipper Faf du Plessis opened the batting for the Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL and could open for the St Kitts as well. The 31-year-old South African has shown that he can set up a good platform for the middle order and take up the responsibility of facing the new ball. West Indian Kieran Powell could be a great option to open alongside du Plessis and play the attacking role between the two.
Former Australian batsman, Brad Hodge has a wealth of T20 experience which he could put to good use for the St Kitts in the No.3 position. Hodge has participated in a record number of T20 matches (256) and maintains a healthy strike-rate of 131. Lendl Simmons can induce quite an amount of damage on the opposition and will certainly be a part of this team. The 31-year-old West Indian maintains a strike-rate of 115. West Indies batsman Devon Thomas could be considered as an additional option in the middle order.
All-rounders:
Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera can open the bowling and score quick runs when required as he did for the Rising Pune Supergiants in this year’s IPL. Perera maintained a massive strike-rate of 161 and picked up 9 wickets for the Supergiants this year. Carlos Brathwaite hit 4 sixes in the Final over of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Final and made West Indies win the World Cup. Apart from his hitting power, Brathwaite can bowl in the mid overs and contain the opposition. 28-year-old all-rounder Jonathan Carter could get a game here against the Warriors. Carter has hit a century in this format (111*) and also useful with the ball, picking up 44 wickets in 51 games.
Bowlers:
Spinners Samuel Badree and Tabraiz Shamsi could be ideal to lead the spin department. Badree, in particular, is a T20 specialist and his services could come in handy against the Amazon Warriors. 34-year-old Tino Best should open the bowling attack for the Patriots. Best has picked up 51 wickets in this format with an economy rate of 7.4 runs per over.
Guyana Amazon Warriors:
Batsmen:
Skipper Martin Guptill will be expected to open the batting for the Amazon Warriors. The explosive 29-year-old maintains a strike-rate of 131 in the T20s and can accelerate almost instantly when needed. West Indian Dwayne Smith could open the innings as he has so often done in the IPL. Smith enjoys batting at the top of the order with a strike-rate of 127.
Australian batsman Chris Lynn is an ideal batsman to have in the T20 format. The destructive Australian strikes the ball at a rate of 143. Apart from his striking abilities, Lynn can be quite useful on the boundary lines saving a few runs. 30-year-old Assad Fudadin could feature in the line-up for the Warriors.
Youngster Shimron Hetmyer was a part of the World Cup-winning team for the U-19s and has shown some promise with the bat. This could be a great opportunity for the youngster to showcase his talent and cement his place in the squad if given a chance.
All-rounders:
Chris Barnwell has a reputation of striking the cricket ball a long way in addition to picking a few wickets in the mid overs. The 29-year-old could feature in the game against the Patriots. West Indies all-rounder Rayad Emrit has the necessary abilities for the T20 format, maintaining a strike-rate of 128 and picking 74 wickets with the ball. The Warriors could consider Orlando Peters as he can be useful with the bat and the ball. Peters maintains a decent strike-rate of 115 with the bat.
Bowlers:
Pakistan seamer Sohail Tanvir could use his unorthodox bowling action to surprise the Patriots. Tanvir can swing the new ball well and pick up wickets consistently. Spinners Devendra Bishoo and the Australian leggie Adam Zampa could lead the spin attack for the Warriors.
Prediction:
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will be considered favourites against the Warriors due to their superiority in the batting department. Consisting of world class all-rounders in the form of Perera and Brathwaite, the Patriots will want to get off to a good start in the tournament and grab the 2 points against the Warriors.
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