PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsSt Lucia Zouks (SLZ) will fight it out with Barbados Tridents (BT) in Match 17 of the 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet.
The Zouks lie fourth in the table, having won just once in four games. The Tridents too have a couple of points, but they have played a game lesser than the Zouks. Both teams are coming off the back of losses – SLZ lost by six wickets to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, while BT suffered a four-wicket loss against Jamaical Tallawahs.
Needless to say, this is a crucial game for both teams and nothing short of a win will do for either of them.
Team News
Colin Ingram comes into the St Lucia side following Sri Lanka Cricket’s decision to revoke Thisara Perera’s NOC. Ingram’s inclusion provides further depth to St Lucia’s batting line-up which already consists of Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher and Colin de Grandhomme among others.
Ground Details and Team Combination
This is the first match this season at Gros Islet, which has been one of the most expensive grounds for fast bowlers, but they have one of the best bowling strike-rates (18) among all grounds on which at least 10 matches have been played since CPL 2017. Only Sabina Park (17.7) and Queens Park Oval (16.4) has been better in this regard.
However, as far as spinners are concerned, a strike-rate of 24.6 is the worst rate for balls per wicket. It might be a good idea to stock your team with pacers for this match.
Captaincy Choices
With scores in excess of 30, including a blistering 30-ball 75 against Jamaica Tallawahs, Rahkeem Cornwall is an ideal candidate for the role of captain in your team. He has a strike-rate of 244.26 in CPL 2019 and has struck 17 fours and 11 maximums in four innings already. He has easily been one of the best opening batsmen in the tournament so far.
Colin Ingram had a quiet NatWest T20 tournament in which he scored just a couple of fifties. But his strike-rate of 145 is quite encouraging. A free-flowing batsman, Ingram will be expected to get going right from ball one for the Zouks, who have performed well but have not had results go their way.
JP Duminy has had starts in the matches he has played so far but has failed to convert them into a big score. He showed his class when he mauled the bowlers to all parts of the ground durin his unbeaten 18-ball 43 against the Patriots to power his team to a competitive total. Along with being a clever batsman, the Tridents could use his off-spin to good effect as well.
X-Factors
Colin de Grandhomme is a floater who comes into bat depending on the situation. He can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of a few deliveries. He has not shown his batting prowess to full effect in the couple of matches he has played in the tournament so far, scoring 25 off 20 and 30 off 22 in his two games so far. It is his unpredictability that makes him an excellent player and this could very well be the match he succeeds in cutting loose.
Obed McCoy has been a tad expensive in the tournament this season, but it is his bowling strike-rate of 13.4 that makes him a dangerous candidate. He picked up four wickets in his first game, but then has managed just three more in his next three matches. With the track at Gros Islet offering a bit more for the pacers compared to the spinners, this could be the ideal match to pick this young fast bowler.
Suggested FanFight Team
Andre Fletcher, Alex Hales, Rahkeem Cornwall, Colin Ingram, Jonathan Carter, JP Duminy, Colin de Grandhomme, Sandeep Lamichhane, Fawad Ahmed, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh.
