CPL 2022: Crucial games at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on super Saturday

By Brandon Corlette in St Lucia

The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia is set to erupt with good vibes as Jamaica Tallawahs lock horns with Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) at 10:00h while the main event will be the St Lucia Kings battling the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) from 19:00h.

All four teams playing today are fresh from defeats, and a win on this super Saturday will be crucial. St Lucia Kings Captain Faf du Plessis noted that his side lost their game against Barbados Royals with some ordinary bowling. With Kings set to take on Warriors, du Plessis is hoping his side will bounce back.
“Our next game is against a team that want to get the momentum and get something going, so it is really important of how well we are on top of our skills. It is a really crucial game. Batting second, the spinners won’t play much of a role, so hopefully that remains the same,” he said.

Meanwhile, Guyana Amazon Warriors Captain Shimron Hetmyer said it would be about execution and closing off the tight matches. “It is for us to close off games, and not to be too hard on the guys. It is only a few games for us, so it is just for us to get it right. It is always important to win, but we have to take it one step at a time on how to execute and close it out with bat and ball,” Hetmyer explained.
The Jamaica Tallawahs, who lost to Kings on Wednesday last, will be eager to bounce back against a strong TKR outfit. Captain Rovman Powell noted that the tournament looked very competitive, but it was still early days.
All sides are on the board now and on Thursday, defending champions St Kitts & Nevis Patriots stormed back into contention by becoming the first team to successfully chase down more than 20 runs in the last over of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

“Yeah, definitely [this is a very competitive season]. When you look at all the teams – the composition of all the teams – they’re evenly matched,” Powell said. “It boils down to team performances on the day, and that is what cricket is all about. [In the] years gone by in the CPL, we’ve had teams that are so much better than others, so people know the result of the game sometimes before you even play the game. This year provides something different not just for the players but also for the fans. So, it’s pretty good,” Powell said in a media interaction on Thursday afternoon.
The mighty TKR have one win, one loss and one no result after three matches and will be aiming for a second victory of the campaign against Jamaica Tallawahs.
TKR Head Coach Abishek Nayar is optimistic the team’s performance against Royals was an anomaly.
“I look at it as one bad day that came at the right time,” Nayar said. “I feel you always rather have a game like that early in the tournament and I believe that when you have a bunch of professionals who are legends in their own rights, sometimes a wake-up call early in the tournament is better than later on,” the TKR Head Coach added.