The bottom two teams bring the Caribbean Premier League out of the rest day on Tuesday when the Barbados Tridents and the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots collide with both looking to get their CPL 2020 season back on track.
Barbados go into this their fourth match of the season having won just one of their opening three games while the Patriots haven’t yet got off the mark for their campaign so this is a match neither can afford to lose.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
If it could go wrong it has done for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots so far in the tournament but the simple fact is they didn’t look like a squad that was equipped for a big run ahead of the season beginning and nothing we have seen in the first three matches has changed that opinion. They had everything going for them when they took on the Barbados Tridents in their opening match but couldn’t get over the line and they have slumped from there.
Since that opening match they have been comfortably seen off by the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the St Lucia Zouks and the big problem on both occasions, as it was for the most part against Barbados Tridents, is that their batting is just too light. They lengthened it a little in their last match but it didn’t make a whole lot of difference. The other thing we are starting to see more in particular is how a lack of out and out top drawer spin options are going to let them down.
Barbados Tridents
When the Barbados Tridents fought off everything being against them to see off the Patriots in the opening match of their title defence, many expected them to go from strength to strength and dominate the tournament. It hasn’t worked out like that though and they actually find themselves under a bit of pressure to deliver the goods here after losing their last two matches. Should they win here they are back on track but a defeat could see it go pear-shaped fast.
To be fair to the Tridents they were unlucky that the rain hurt them so badly against the St Lucia Zouks, but they were behind at the point that it came anyway. There was nothing unlucky about their loss to the Trinbago Knight Riders on Sunday where some questionable decisions didn’t help their cause. They will require clear thinking from everyone and a ruthless streak in this match if they are going to come through it.
Special Offer
Sign up for a BetVictor account and bet £5 to get £30 in free bets and bonuses! Click the image below to sign up. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Men
Denesh Ramdin took an innings or so to get going but he looks to be finding the middle of the bat now and that is no bad thing for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. As a man who the big hitters can bat around, it is key that he delivers a good showing.
Johnson Charles is quickly finding his feet this season and he is the man that is looked to by the Barbados Tridents to explode their innings into life at the top of it. If he can catch fire it would lead the Tridents into a very good position to win from.
Betting
It is hard to see beyond the Barbados Tridents in this match. They have already seen off the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots this season and did so when everything was against them in terms of their bowling attack having to bowl in dewy conditions. That won’t happen here because it is a day game and that should really favour the Tridents because their arsenal of spin bowlers can bring out all their tricks and treats with more control than they had in the reverse fixture.
There would have been a bit of a concern about taking a short price on the Tridents when their batting was struggling in the early part of the competition but the improvement in form of the likes of Johnson Charles and Shai Hope is very much a positive in that department so those fears are not as strong as they might be. Ultimately this isn’t about Barbados and their batsmen. It is about how the St Kitts and Nevis batsmen play the raft of spinners the Tridents have. The evidence so far is that they won’t play them so well so I’m happy to be on the defending champions here.
Tips
Back Barbados Tridents to beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
