St.Lucia Zouks picked up their fourth win of the 2020 CPL season against the St.Kitts and Nevis Patriots, to strengthen their position towards the top of the table. This has been a massive improvement for the Zouks, who managed to win just four games all season in the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
What’s changed? According to skipper Daren Sammy it is a combination of good team performance and good recruitment on the part of the team management.
“Like I have said from the start of the tournament, knowing conditions we will be facing, we've built our team geared towards these conditions. The freedom our owners have given Andy (Flower) and myself in recruiting the players has really helped,” said the St.Lucia Zouks skipper post the win over the Patriots.
Given that only two venues are to be used for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League, the Zouks management recognised the wear and tear on the wickets and invested heavily on spinners. This season St.Lucia Zouks added Mohammad Nabi, Zahir Khan, Saad Bin Zafar, Roston Chase to their roster to augment their already existing spin attack of Rahkeem Cornwall and Mark Deyal.
The move has paid dividends so far for the Zouks as spinners accounted for seven of the nine wickets against the Patriots, while conceding just 71 runs in the 16 overs amongst them. The story was similar against the Barbados Tridents earlier in the season as well, with spinners chipping in to pick four wickets amongst them in the middle order and lay the foundation for an easy chase.
“We have a lot of bowlers, today I used eight of them and everyone is in good touch. I am really happy with the guys we have, they aren't superstars but we can see a different level of intent and commitment in the boys which is very pleasing. We have to control the runs in the powerplay. In T20s if you can control that period, the team wins,” said skipper Daren Sammy after than win.
Despite not having too many worldbeaters in their squad, Daren Sammy and coach Andy Flower have managed to get the best out of each player, calling on each player to do their bit for the franchise. That collective effort has shown this season, with the Zouks second on the table after having played six matches, looking primed to reach the semifinals.
