The second part of the double header of action in the Caribbean Premier League on Wednesday sees two sides who were involved on the opening day continuing their CPL 2020 campaign as the Guyana Amazon Warriors take on the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
Both these teams lost their opening match so already there is an air of pressure on them as no side wants to start their campaign with two defeats, especially in successive days when momentum could be such a crucial factor in an event that is done and dusted in just over three weeks.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
It wasn’t the worst performance we have seen from the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the opening match but clearly it wasn’t the dominant side that we saw for so much of last season. Their big players with the bat were unable to really show their talents with the exception of Shimron Hetmyer, because they were in trouble early on and in a match shortened by rain they were unable to rebuild sufficiently.
The worrying sign for the Amazon Warriors in that opening match was that their bowling attack wasn’t as effective as they would have liked. They have a couple of spinners but they were largely ineffective and expensive and so they need them to come to the party, although in a night match dew will be a factor. Guyana have the batting power to deliver the goods here so will be hoping that their bowlers come on for the run.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
I would say the display of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots was of more concern of the two on the opening day. On the face of it their bowling effort looked like a good one given that they had the Barbados Tridents 8-3 in 15 balls and then 79-6 before the halfway mark but they were unable to restrict the Tridents to under 150. That still shouldn’t have been an issue for them but they unravelled quite quickly in the second innings.
Their batting innings never really got going. Their openers were contained by spin and the quality of Jason Holder early on and just when it looked like they were going to break away, the spin returned to contain them. In the end they went down by six runs so will need to offer up a lot more intent at the top of their innings. The reason why they allowed themselves to be shackled was an extremely light batting order so that is an issue that needs addressing.
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Key Men
Shimron Hetmyer was the top scorer on the opening day of the tournament and having got off to a fine start he is likely to be a man to watch for the remainder of the event. He has the ability to take a good score and turn it into an exceptional one.
Sohail Tanvir showed us all his quality with the ball in the opening match but came in a little late for us to see all the power he possesses with the bat. Given their light batting line up it might be that Tanvir gets elevated to be a pinch hitter so he is one to watch here.
Betting
I think the gap between the odds of the two sides is a little too big in this one. There is no doubt that the Guyana Amazon Warriors have the more powerful batting line up and that probably makes them worthy favourites but I’m not convinced their bowling attack matches up to this St Kitts and Nevis Patriots side as much as it needs to and as a result I suspect the Patriots could be a touch of value in this one at around the 7/5 mark.
We saw Barbados contain the St Kitts top order with quality spin on Tuesday night but unless Guyana are prepared to risk Imran Tahir early doors there isn’t really anyone for the Amazon Warriors to do that with. Much of their bowling success in the past has been because Chris Green has often been difficult to get away but with the modifications to his bowling action he doesn’t look nearly the same bowler, albeit in a small sample size. If the likes of Chris Lynn, Evin Lewis and Ben Dunk get firing St Kitts and Nevis would be well placed to cause a big shock with the quality of their bowling attack.
Tips
Back St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to beat Guyana Amazon Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Betfred
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