St. Lucia Zouks got off the mark in the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League, defeating champions Barbados Tridents on day three in a rain truncated match. Due to the rain interruption, Zouks needed 47 to win off five overs, and batters Mohammad Nabi and Andre Fletcher made the most of veteran spinner Rashid Khan’s bowling, to get nearly half of their runs of his two overs.
It was a comfortable win for St. Lucia in the end, a win that highlighted something skipper Daren Sammy believes is very important to go deep into the tournament- the ability to play spin well.
"The key will be the ability of our batsmen to play quality spin. The team that adapts quickly to playing spin will end up winning the tournament," said Sammy in a post-match interview.
Alongside playing spin well, Sammy believes that spin bowlers in the team will have a big role to play in the tournament. With only two stadiums being used for the 2020 CPL, the former West Indies captain feels the pitch will offer enough turn as the competition progresses. Therefore, using spinners prudently to break partnerships and arrest the run flow is critical to the Zouks’ gameplan.
"Since the matches will be played on two grounds only, I expect a lot more wear and tear of the pitch, which means spinners will have a greater role to play in this year's CPL. I am quite happy at the assortment of spinners we have at our disposal. We have Zahir Khan from Afghanistan, who is very promising. Then, there's Mohammad Nabi who is world-class. We also have Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase, both of whom are very good spinners,” said Sammy.
Coach Andy Flower echoed similar sentiments, reiterating that the turning tracks of Trinidad will increase team dependency on spinners. "Both the pitches on which the CPL 2020 is being played are known to offer turn. Even if the pitches are a bit damp or sticky, we expect them to spin. We expect spinners to play a big part in this tournament," he said.
WICKETS!!! Roston Chase takes the wickets of Carter and Mayers in 2 balls. #CPL20#SLZvBT#CricketPlayedLouderpic.twitter.com/8JSWtUWFNx
— CPL T20 (@CPL) August 20, 2020
Their words rang true in the second game as it was the combination of Chase and Nabi that broke the back of the Tridents middle-order. In other games as well, the likes of Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan and Mitchell Santner have performed admirably thanks to the turn on offer.
Three spinners feature in the top five for most wickets so far in the Caribbean Premier League, with the two scorers of the competition thus far being Shimron Hetmyer and Sunil Narine- both known for their ability to efficiently counterattack spin.
