CPL 2020: Match 5, St. Lucia Zouks vs Barbados Tridents, Preview- Jason Holder & his men keen to continue their winning run

The Tridents lucidly emerge as the stronger unit on paper, however, after a close contest in what was their opening match in this edition, they cannot take anything for granted.

Published - 20 Aug 2020, 12:32 IST | Updated - 20 Aug 2020, 12:32 IST

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The 5th match of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is set up between the defending champions Barbados Tridents and St. Lucia Zouks on Thursday, 20th August at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium, Trinidad.

The Tridents lucidly emerge as the stronger unit on paper, however, after a close contest in what was their opening match in this edition, they cannot take anything for granted. With the likes of Rashid Khan, Ashley Nurse, Hayden Walsh Jr, and Mitchell Santner, their spin bowling unit looks remarkable.

Rashid and Santner were the picks in the first encounter of Tridents as they both scripted decent cameos with the bat and bagged two wickets each to give an all-round performance whereas skipper Jason Holder shone with his 38-run knock. The Tridents ended up victorious against St. Kitts in their opening encounter, however, there are certain issues they would want to address.

On the other hand, St. Lucia Zouks, will expect their players to up the ante in today’s encounter after losing to Jamaica Tallawahs, who defeated them by 5 wickets and chased down the target with 7 balls to spare. The margin of loss has dented the 5th-placed Zouks’ net run rate (NRR) quite badly.

The absence of some star players seems to be hurting them. However, in the presence of Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher, and Darren Sammy, they have enough potency in their side to turn things around.

Playing combinations

St. Lucia Zouks

Rakheem Cornwall is expected to open alongside Andre Fletcher and they both will look forward to exploiting the powerplay to their advantage after missing out against Jamaica Tallawahs. The youngster Mark Deyal should come in at No. 3. He looked promising for his 17 off 5, however, he would want to contribute more and come amongst the runs with consistency.

Roston Chase should come in at No. 4 like the previous match and would want to continue his good run after scoring a half-century. Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, and Darren Sammy will form the middle-order. Both Scott Kuggeleijn and Zahir Khan were expensive in the previous match and the Zouks might bring in Chemar Holder in place of Kuggeleijn.

On the other hand, Zahir might be retained and given another chance for being a spinner. Kesrick Williams and Obed McCoy performed well with the ball, however, they need to bowl with better control in the death overs.

Predicted Playing XI- Rahkeem Cornwall, Andre Fletcher, Mark Deyal, Najibullah Zadran, Roston Chase, Mohammad Nabi, Darren Sammy (C), Scott Kuggeleijn/Chemar Holder, Kesrick Williams, Zahir Khan, and Obed McCoy.

Barbados Tridents

The Tridents will want contributions specifically from the likes of Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, and Corey Anderson at the top. Hope and Charles will be in their regular opening slot. Shamarh Brooks might be given a chance after Anderson’s duck against St. Kitts.

After the top-order was rattled, it was Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder who steadied the ship with their responsible knocks and they should be forming the middle-order along with Jonathon Carter who missed out in the first match.

Tridents’ bowlers looked well in control and it is unlikely that they will make any change in their line-up. Therefore, all amongst Raymon Reifer, Mitchell Santner, Rashid Khan, and Walsh Jr should be in action.

Predicted Playing XI- Shai Hope (WK), Johnson Charles, Shamarh Brooks/Corey Anderson, Kyle Mayers, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder (C), Rashid Khan, Ashley Nurse, Mitchell Santner, Raymon Reifer, and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Head to Head

Matches Played- 14 | Barbados Tridents Won- 10 | St. Lucia Zouks Won – 4