CPL 2019: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Match 4, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

CPL 2019: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Match 4, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Ali Khan CPL Caribbean Premier League

Guyana Amazon Warriors will look to build on their victory in their opening Caribbean Premier League 2019 match when they take on St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Providence on Thursday, September 7.

Guyana saw off St Lucia Zouks by 13 runs, but as important as a victory in their opening match was, the performance wasn’t without faults. Their batting failed to come together, with the two of the top five batsmen making single digit scores and the remainder failing to make the most of their starts. It left the Warriors at 98/6 before Keemo Paul’s 22-ball 38 helped them cross 150.

The batting will need to improve drastically for the second encounter, given St Kitts possess perhaps more threatening bowlers in Alzarri Joseph and Sheldon Cottrell. That said, they themselves can use a leg up with their batting.

In their opening loss to Trinbago Knight Riders, the defending champions, their top order managed a good start, with 70 runs on the board for the loss of one wicket in the 11th over. However, a collapse thereafter meant they – in chase of just 153 – were bundled out for 141, with their middle order batsmen scoring 0, 1 and 2.

Both teams will need their batsmen to stand up come Thursday. It’s imperative they do.

Head to head

This rivalry is rather one-sided. Guyana and St Kitts have clashed eight times previously, going back to their first encounter in CPL 2015. Guyana have won six of those matches. St Kitts’ two victories over Guyana both came in the 2017 CPL, and they’ll hope to recapture that magic this season.

Key players

Nicholas Pooran (Guyana Amazon Warriors): The wicketkeeper-batsman was brought into the side as a marquee player, their big hope for the season. However, Pooran failed to live up to the expectations in his first outing for Guyana, scoring a golden duck against the Zouks. All eyes will be on him, and he’ll need a big score, if only to ensure whispers of a blip don’t gather momentum.

Carlos Brathwaite (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots): As captain, Brathwaite should be leading from the front. But in the Patriots’ opener, he scored just a 3-ball 2, and went wicket-less in his four overs, conceding 34 runs. More is expected from the captain, especially given his big-hitting capabilities, and the sooner he delivers, the better.

Likely XIs

Guyana Amazon Warriors: Brandon King, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Chris Green, Shadab Khan, Romario Shepherd

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots: Kjorn Ottley, Evin Lewis, Mohammad Hafeez, Jason Mohammed, Devon Thomas (wk), Carlos Brathwaite (c), Fabian Allen, Usama Mir, Rayad Emrit, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell

Prediction

Guyana to come out on top for their second consecutive win.