The latest season of the Caribbean Premier League begins in the early hours of Thursday morning as once again the six franchises do battle for the biggest title in that part of the world. An exciting tri-nations ODI series was a really good preparation for the tournament and has whetted the appetite for what should be a good event with some of the biggest names in the world on show.
The Teams
The Trinbago Knight Riders, formerly the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, are the defending champions and as such play their home leg of the tournament early. Historically T&T have the best domestic side in the Caribbean. Their success last season was based around the quality of Jacques Kallis so it will be interesting to see how they cope without him.
Barbados Tridents won the tournament in 2014 and almost retained their title, just failing in the final against the Red Steel. They had topped the table which gave them automatic entry into the final but weren’t quite good enough to get over the line despite the best efforts of their captain Kieron Pollard.
The Guyana Amazon Warriors were runners up in the first two editions of this tournament and had to settle for third place last season so they will hope to finally get over the line this year. They look to have a batting heavy squad but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this tournament.
Every season the Jamaica Tallawahs go into the tournament as the favourites to land the title but for once that isn’t the case. The reason for that is the appearance of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell in their squad but having won the tournament in 2013 they haven’t made the final since which might be why they could be a value price this year.
Last season was the first time the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were involved in the competition having replaced the Antigua Hawksbills but it wasn’t a successful debut as they finished bottom of the pile. They have plenty to build on this season in what is their second attempt at glory.
St Lucia Zouks have been in all three runnings of this event but have never made the playoffs which will have disappointed them. Hopes were high for them last season when Kevin Pietersen was signed but even then they showed little improvement. They will want to be in the mix this time around but need to improve to do so.
The Stars
Some of the best T20 players in the game are in this tournament with the Caribbean World T20 champions mostly all playing. Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles and Carlos Brathwaite are all going to be involved.
It isn’t just the domestic players who catch the eye in this tournament. Arguably the best set of overseas talent ever has been signed up for this season as the competition begins to increase in popularity.
AB de Villiers, Martin Guptill, Adam Zampa, Kumar Sangakkara, Dale Steyn, Shakib al Hasan, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, David Miller, Hashim Amla, Brendon McCullum and Umar Akmal are the pick of the foreign imports but there are plenty more besides too which will make this an excellent tournament.
The Format
Each side plays against the other five teams twice with all six franchises playing four matches at home and four away as well as two on a neutral venue when the tournament goes to America to conclude the league stage.
The top two after everyone has played 10 matches go into a semi-final where the winners move to the final while third and fourth play in an elimination match where the winners play the losers of the other game to create the second finalist much like in the Indian Premier League. The final is in St Kitts on August 7th.
Betting
Just looking at the squads you would say that the Trinbago side would have every chance of winning the title again. They have Hashim Amla, Brendon McCullum, the Bravo brothers, Sunil Narine and Suliemann Benn in their ranks but we have to remember that the West Indies begin a Test series halfway through this tournament so there is a chance Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine and maybe one or two others get called away.
Jamaica always look strong and this season is no different. Gayle and Russell are bankers at this level while the additions of Dale Steyn and Kumar Sangakkara makes them look very strong and I can see them having a good season. Even with Sangakkara whether they have the batting depth should Gayle fail in a big game would be my big concern.
Barbados Tridents are entitled to be there or thereabouts again especially with AB de Villiers blazing away with the bat while Guyana Amazon Warriors signing Adam Zampa could be a masterstroke but I like one of the outsiders for a punt this season.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots look to have a well-balanced squad. Faf du Plessis is a good attacking captain which will be needed in this tournament where wickets will be the only way of slowing down the scoring and he has the bowlers to go on the attack with.
Krishmar Santokie is one of the best death bowlers in the competition while the leg spin twins of Samuel Badree and Tabraiz Shamsi will be hard to get away. On the quicker wickets Tino Best, Carlos Brathwaite and Thisara Perera will be a handful too.
They have plenty of options with the bat around du Plessis which will be important on the small Warner Park boundaries so they have all the tools to go all the way in the tournament in my eyes.
Tips
Back St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to win Caribbean Premier League for a 2/10 stake at 6.50 with Skybet
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