The second match in the 2019 Caribbean Premier League season sees the beaten finalists of last term beginning their quest to finally get their hands on the trophy when the Guyana Amazon Warriors take on the St Lucia Zouks.
The St Lucia franchise have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent times so they will be appreciative of the chance to get onto the pitch and put that behind them, but they face a tricky test against the four-time finalists.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
The Guyanese fans must be wondering if their side is ever going to get their hands on this title having come second on no fewer than four occasions. If they are going to do it you would fancy it will be this year because they look to have the best squad they’ve put together in years and once which can negate the slow nature of their home pitch, which is probably one of the reasons why they haven’t got over the line to date.
The addition of Nicholas Pooran should be a game changer and they now have a good balance with players who can flourish in all conditions. If there is a concern then it would come in the form of a relatively inexperienced captain but there are a number of players with experience around him who can help out and deliver the goods themselves and help him with decision making.
St Lucia Zouks
We all know the fallout in St Lucia which has seen the Stars become the Zouks and their squad has suffered a little as a result as they were unable to hold on to Kieron Pollard, although even his presence last season couldn’t inspire this side to deliver much in the way of positive results. The concern for them is that their batting looks very weak and when they are at home later in the competition that could be vital as you need to score well in St Lucia.
When they are away from home though there should be no reason why they can’t be competitive because they look to have a very good bowling attack which is undoubtedly going to be their strength. They have some good spin options which will be vital here and even their pace bowlers are very adept at taking pace off the ball which is exactly what is needed on this ground.
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Team News
Guyana Amazon Warriors will give a debut to their marquee signing Nicholas Pooran while Brandon King is set to debut for them as well. A choice will have to be made between Ben Laughlin and Shadab Khan with the former likely to be preferred.
St Lucia Zouks will give out a few debuts with Fawad Ahmad and Hardus Viljoen probably the two biggest. They need the likes of John Campbell and Rakheem Cornwall to give Andre Fletcher good support with the bat.
Betting
I’m expecting to see a low-ish scoring game here but the bookmakers have most things priced up like that as well so finding a bet isn’t easy. I’ve already pinned my colours to the mast of the Guyana Amazon Warriors this season so I’m not going to go against them but short odds on a pudding of a pitch like the one usually churned out at Providence doesn’t really inspire me.
Instead it is a performance for me for an interest in the match and it is the one for Nicholas Pooran which I like. The line is at 30.5 which he’ll back with the bat more often than he doesn’t. When playing here for Barbados last season he scored 45 runs and took a catch and we won’t need as much as that here. I would imagine he’ll bat in a key position and as a keeper he could very easily pick up points in the field. I like the over here.
Tips
Back N.Pooran’s Performance – Over 30.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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