The second part of the CPL 2021 double header on Saturday sees two of the bigger sides in the competition battling it out for two Caribbean Premier League points as the Barbados Royals take on the Jamaica Tallawahs at Warner Park.
These two have made very different starts to their campaigns with the Royals without a win in either of their opening two matches while the Tallawahs got off to a brutally strong winning start in the only match of the tournament they have played so far.
Barbados Royals
The Barbados Royals are under a little bit of pressure to start delivering the goods here. They haven’t been terrible in their two matches but they are not finishing innings off and I always think that is a concern for any side. It suggests a lack of planning, although to be fair in these times we have to edge on the side of sympathy a little with overseas players getting drafted and then not showing up for one reason or another.
The simple fact is though that this Royals side look at least one proper batsman light if not two. Jason Holder moved himself up to three in the defeat to Trinbago on Friday night and they still had bowlers coming in at seven. That is fine if the top order deliver the goods but so far this hasn’t been a new ball pitch as far as batting goes. One thing Barbados do have in their favour is a multitude of bowling options but they still need to put runs on the board.
Jamaica Tallawahs
We can’t really take a huge amount from the Jamaica Tallawahs opening win because they were the recipients of the worst bowling performance I’ve ever seen from a professional cricket team but the one thing we can take is that their batsmen are going to be feeling good about themselves because they all tucked into the buffet that was on offer. That is no bad thing on this ground where hitting the ball out of the park has to be the order of the day.
We will probably find out more about their bowlers in this match in particular because it is pretty easy to pick up wickets when a side needs 13 an over from the outset. They didn’t need to worry about plans and matchups and things like that but there is a chance they’ll need to do that here so we’ll see what they are about. They have the nice position of knowing their net run rate is already worth an extra point to them which might make them play with more freedom.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this league! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Men
Azam Khan has been the only Barbados batsman who has looked comfortable so far. They could do with moving him up the order so that he doesn’t have to rein himself in after the loss of a clump of wickets. He has got two starts so far but is threatening to go big.
All eyes will be on Andre Russell in this match to see how he can back up that brutal 50 he hit on Friday afternoon. This ground certainly isn’t big enough for him so if he gets the platform to express himself again then Barbados could be in trouble.
Betting
I have to confess there isn’t a huge amount that I like in this match. I expect the Jamaica Tallawahs to win and win well but the odds are all on the side of that happening and I’m no 4/7 backer in a T20 match especially in this tournament because if someone has a day out you can be toast. We also don’t know quite how good Jamaica are because Saint Lucia were appalling on Friday and basically handed the Tallawahs the match on a plate.
I will have a go at a top batsman in the Barbados Royals line-up though where the 10/1 on Azam Khan top scoring is just way too big. While it isn’t ideal that he’s down the order for the Royals, he has looked as good as anyone so far and Jamaica have the bowlers up front to take a few poles and get him in with the top score still in reach. He top scored on Friday night against the Trinbago Knight Riders and was only beaten by Shai Hope in their first match so I’ll take a chance he top scores again at 10/1, particularly when he bats in the same position as Tim David who top scored against Jamaica on Friday.
Tips
Back A.Khan Top Barbados Royals Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Betfair
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
