Confidence would be high in the St. Lucia Zouks camp when they take on last season’s beaten finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors in their first game of the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League. The Zouks outclassed the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots to get a convincing win in their previous game, and find themselves in the right end of the table after two games. With games coming thick and fast, Daren Sammy and co. will hope that their winning momentum continues as the tournament gets closer to its midway point.
Head-to-head record
Guyana Amazon Warriors | St. Lucia Zouks |
9 | 4 |
Guyana Amazon Warriors have fared better in the head-to-head record against the St. Lucia Zouks. The Warriors did the double over Daren Sammy’s team in 2019, with Brandon King and Chris Green starring for Guyana in those matches respectively.
This time around, the Zouks will take some heart from the fact that both those players have started the season poorly, with King scoring a mere 10 runs and Green getting a solitary wicket after two games. Also, given the way Daren Sammy’s team has performed in the past two matches, they would be optimistic of getting a favourable result in CPL 2020.
Watch out for:
Mohammad Nabi continued to shine for the St. Lucia Zouks, playing a crucial cameo in the death overs against the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots to register the highest team total of CPL 2020. His calmness under pressure and prolonged franchise competition experience make him one of the most reliable players for the Zouks.
Mohammad Nabi hits two huge SIXES and wins the Googly magic moment for match 7. #CPL20#SKPvSLZ#CricketPlayedLouderpic.twitter.com/eWEGo2utgx
— CPL T20 (@CPL) August 22, 2020
Roston Chase has proved to be a brilliant utility player for the Zouks, performing well with the bat and the ball. He chanced his golden arm against the Patriots in the previous game, and ended up with figures of 3/12 in his four overs. The all-rounder was brought in as a late replacement for the Zouks, and that is turning out to be an inspired bit of business given his all-round impact so far in the competition.
Opponent Corner
Last season’s leading run scorer Brandon King has struggled for form in the first two games, but the same can’t be said for the swashbuckling Shimron Hetmyer. The southpaw has twin fifties to his name after two games; and alongside Nicholas Pooran, Ross Taylor and Sherfane Rutherford forms a formidable middle-order line up for the Warriors. On the bowling front, Keemo Paul and Imran Tahir have been lethal so far, successfully negating the opposition scoring rate in the middle overs of the game.
Probable XI: Andre Fletcher, Rakheem Cornwall, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Daren Sammy (c), Roston Chase, Scott Kuggelejin, Chemar Holder, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Saad Bin Zafar
NOTE:The aforementioned line-up is an educated guess at best, and the final decision rests with the captain and the team management depending on various external factors.
