The second match on the opening day card in the CPL 2020 season sees the champions beginning their title defence when the Barbados Tridents take on the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.
This is very much a clash between one of the more successful sides in Caribbean Premier League history and one who have plenty to prove, albeit still as relative newcomers to the competition, so this is nicely set up.
Barbados Tridents
It will be interesting to see how the Barbados Tridents go in this match and indeed in this tournament. I say that because although they showed their class on this ground to win the title last term, they are generally better at the Kensington Oval rather than on their travels. The other thing to note is they are often a side who build their way into the competition, and we saw last term that there is nothing wrong with that.
I sense it might be a little different this time round though. The Tridents hierarchy have put together a squad with a lot of spinners and that is going to be pivotal throughout this event. There has been rain in the Trinidad area on the day of the game so the dew shouldn’t be as much of a factor here so Barbados are likely to be tough to beat, especially as they haven’t sacrificed their batting strength in the search for quality spin options.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
I think it is fair to say that the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have disappointed in their time in the Caribbean Premier League to date and it will be interesting to see if they have learned the lessons they have needed to in order to put together a more consistent campaign. It is not easy for one of the smaller nations in the competition to be competitive and I’m not sure the road like wicket at Warner Park helps them much so it might be that the setup of this tournament helps them.
When we look at the Patriots side, it is fair to say that with the ball their strength comes in the seam department with the likes of Alzarri Joseph, Sohail Tanvir, Sheldon Cottrell and Rayad Emrit all solid options. That might be a concern later in the tournament but it shouldn’t be as much of an issue this early in the event. The one thing that is immediately noticeable is the power they have at the top of the batting and that will make for a brilliant early contest.
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Key Men
You can take your pick from a number of players to be the key man for the Barbados Tridents but the lure of Rashid Khan to the CPL adds an extra profile on the tournament and all eyes will be on the classy Afghanistan international to see how he goes on debut.
Chris Lynn is the marquee signing for the St Kitts and Kevis Patriots. He has had a mixed time of it in the CPL in the past with very much a feast or famine outlook to his play. All the attention will be on him to see how he handles what is likely to be a trial by spin.
Betting
It is hard to go against the Barbados Tridents here. The pitch might not be as suited to spin as it will be later in the competition but their spinners aren’t ordinary regular spinners so I’m not so sure it will make a difference. When I look at the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots I see an explosive top order but their batting is going to run out quite quickly and while there is power in their top three or four, there isn’t a lot of renowned good players of spin in there.
There doesn’t appear to be a weakness to this Barbados Tridents side. They have got the batsmen who can clear the ropes and they’ve got clever and experienced ones who can knock it round and build the score. I don’t think they’ll need a massive score to defend with the quality they have their bowling attack anyway and that can give even more freedom to their batting to deliver the goods. I’ll take the Tridents to come out on top in this one.
Tips
WON – Back Barbados Tridents to beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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