CPL 2019: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Lucia Zouks, Match 2, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

CPL 2019: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Lucia Zouks, Match 2, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Nicholas Pooran CPL Caribbean Premier League

Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Lucia Zouks will get their CPL 2019 campaigns started on Thursday, September 5, when they take each other on in Providence, and right at the outset, one has to pick Guyana as the favourites here.

There is still a cloud surrounding the Zouks – they were a last-minute addition to the league, at the expense of former avatar St Lucia Stars – and to make matters worse, they have had two big withdrawals from the squad, not long before the start of the season. Lasith Malinga will play no part in the CPL, and neither will Niroshan Dickwella.

New Zealand’s burly all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme headlines the list of replacements, but he will only be available from their third match. For the first two matches, it’s Krishmar Santokie that will fill in. Dickwella will be replaced by Cameron Delport, initially, and Hardus Viljoen for the rest of the series.

While the replacements are more than capable of holding their own, for the team as whole, such constant ins and outs aren’t helpful. Guyana, for their part, will be hoping to capitalise on all that. They have the resources to trouble St Lucia too.

In Imran Tahir and Qais Ahmed, they have a potent spin combo, and the duo will look to trouble the Zouks right from off. All eyes, however, will be on Nicholas Pooran, their marquee signing. The big-hitter moved from Barbados Tridents to Guyana, and if he can put behind his disappointments from the India series – he got starts, but not big scores – he can be a real handful, especially in combination with Shimron Hetmyer.

Head to head

Against the St Lucia Stars – whom the Zouks have replaced, but with a similar playing squad – Guyana won 7 matches in 11 encounters. The Stars won the other 4. History points to Guyana in this clash.

Key players

Nicholas Pooran (Guyana Amazon Warriors): Pooran will hope to bring his A game to the CPL, and being their marquee player, he is Guyana’s shining light. However, Zouks will look to capitalise on any early-tournament jitters, and Pooran has to be wary.

Darren Sammy (St Lucia Zouks): Sammy isn’t the same force he once was, but ahead of a tournament starting in such uncertainty, the captain needs to set the tone early. A great performance from his can go a long way in helping sort the Zouks tournament.

Likely XIs

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

St Lucia Zouks: Andre Fletcher (wk), John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre McCarthy, Najibullah Zadran, Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy (c), Hardus Viljoen, Kesrick Williams, Fawad Ahmed, Obed McCoy

Prediction

Guyana, one of the favourites for the tournament, to coast to victory.