Although losing a great asset to their team, the Barbados Tridents have made sure that they secured a viable replacement for Bangladesh player Shakib Al Hasan, who is no longer available for the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
Right-handed batsman Steve Smith in action
Al Hasan’s replacement will come in the form of Australian former skipper Steve Smith. Smith is returning to the “Biggest Party in Sport” after five years; the Australian had previously been a part of the Antigua Hawksbills team back in 2013.
Having played 64 Tests, 108 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 30 T20 Internationals for Australia, the right-hand batsman currently sits at number one in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings. However, while Test cricket is the 29-year-old’s strong point, he is a force to be reckoned with in the T20 arena. With in excess of 3000 T20 runs, including one century and 11 fifties, under his belt, Smith has played for the likes of Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League (IPL). More recently, the batsman played several marvellous innings for the Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 Canada. The seasoned player will add a wealth of experience to the fairly young Barbados squad.
Speaking on Smith’s signing, Barbados Tridents Coach Robin Singh stated, “It is a huge blow to lose Shakib for the tournament, but in Steve Smith we have a truly world-class replacement who can help to bring power to our batting line-up. As a man who has played cricket at the highest level all over the world, we are very confident that Smith will be a big success with the Tridents.”
The Barbados Tridents will bowl off their Hero CPL 2018 campaign with an away match against local team, the Guyana Amazon Warriors. The two teams will face off at the Providence Stadium on August 12 from 18:00h. After which the Tridents will then face the St Lucia Stars on August 17 at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground. The Tridents team will go on to play the Jamaica Tallawahs in Lauderhill, USA before returning to the Kensington Oval for their five home matches.
