The second part of the double header in the CPL 2023 season on Saturday sees the last team to get their Caribbean Premier League campaign underway when the Guyana Amazon Warriors go up against the first hosts in St Lucia Kings.
The Amazon Warriors make their bow in the tournament in this match while the Kings will be playing their third game and after a win and a loss to begin with, the home side will be looking to come out on top again.
St Lucia Kings
The St Lucia Kings came up short against the Jamaiica Tallawahs in their opening match of the tournament which immediately put the pressure on them in their second game given that this is their home leg of the season. To their credit, they rebounded the following night and took care of the Barbados Royals in pretty emphatic fashion and will be looking for something close to a repeat of that performance to move to the top of the pile here.
The big difference between the two displays was how much more positive the St Lucia Kings top order was in the second game and I think that shows that the penny dropped between the two games. To be fair to them, the Jamaica attack isn’t an easy one to get after initially but it will be interesting to see if they can go well here. They have bowled fairly well in the main when you consider there isn’t much in the way of assistance for the bowlers.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
I always think it is incredible that the Guyana Amazon Warriors have never got their hands on this trophy given the quality of squad they have had at their disposal down the years. Unfortunately for them, they just haven’t been able to hold their nerve when it really matters in this tournament and have been found wanting as a result. That is something they are going to need to rectify from within because you can’t teach game management in the heat of battle.
In terms of the style, nothing looks like it is going to change for the Amazon Warriors this season. They look like they are set up to lay a platform in the opening 10 overs at the top of the innings and set things up for some pretty brutal hitters towards the end of the batting part of the game. The strength of this side comes in the spin department when it comes to the ball, as it needs to for a side who will play more in Guyana than any other, but whether that works in St Lucia remains to be seen.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THE CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Key Players
Faf du Plessis was a little circumspect in the opening match in this tournament but that certainly wasn’t the case in the second one and having found his feet against Barbados you would expect him to go from strength to strength.
Shimron Hetmyer is the talisman for the Guyana Amazon Warriors with the bat and he is also the captain of this side as well so there is going to be a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as his team get their campaign underway here.
Betting
I think there is something to be said for having already had an outing in this competition. We saw that in the second match on Thursday when St Lucia Kings just looked like they had a run in them when they took on the Barbados Royals and I fancy the same might be said of this one when we look back on it when the last ball has been bowled. St Lucia have played twice and you would imagine the Guyana Amazon Warriors will come on for the run.
The other issue I have with the Amazon Warriors is that they have a squad which is setup to do well in Guyana where the conditions are completely different to what they will find here. To add to that, there has been a lot of rain around St Lucia as we saw with the earlier game being washed out so their plethora of spinners might find it difficult to grip the ball. St Lucia rely more on their seamers and if there is something in the pitch after the covers have been on it they can exploit it. I think the Kings are the ones to be with here.
Tips
Back St Lucia Kings to beat Guyana Amazon Warriors for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
