-Regional stars expected to shine at ‘Bubble’ venues

By Clifton Ross

WITH this season’s Hero Caribbean Premier League to be played inside a ‘Bubble’, no home-field advantage will see franchises duking it out in a neutral environment, with the West Indian players entering with the clear cut edge.

Action gets underway in nine days as the 33-match season will be hosted this year under strict biosecurity rules due to COVID-19.

Travelling has been a major part of the tournament’s identity over the years, as fans and the party-like fanfare have been a key part of CPL.

No fans and restrictions to players and staff now means that this season will be pretty one dimensional with regard to teams looking to gain the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd.

Trinidad & Tobago, who has been privileged with hosting the finals every season, is now tasked with hosting one of the most difficult and delicate CPL’s in history.

Keeping the parameters, organisers have gone with keeping the matches at two venues, The Brian Lara Cricket Academy, located in Tarouba, and at the famous Queen’s Park Oval.

Tarouba will host the lion’s share of the games with a total of 23 matches set to be hosted at the venue, which has been a favourite during the Regional Senior season.

The internationally recognized Port-of-Spain-located Queen’s Park will host the other 10 games, arguably the more important round of matches.

Such familiarity with the playing conditions could result in an evenly poised tournament, as no team or player except for former champs, Trinbago Knight Riders, and cricketers, who either play their club cricket or are of Trinidadian nationality, should have the playing edge over any other side.

More so, with all the matches centralized into basically one hub, teams will have more time to adapt and further strategize for rematches against opponents they may have succumbed to in previous encounters.

Also, batsmen and bowlers will have ample time to acclimatise themselves with the conditions, mainly the pitches which will be used as well as the outfield.

Much like the batsmen, the bowlers will ideally relish playing all of their games between two venues, adding to their already existing knowledge of the grounds due to Regional cricket.

Due to the shortened encampment period because of the pandemic, the gelling and training process will be crucial more than ever for players and teams alike. Coaches too might favour the limited travelling as it reduces the exhaustion and fatigue from their cricketers.

Refreshed, focused players engaging in battle within a designated environment is a recipe for high levels of intense cricket. Most of the upcoming days will see teams looking to get themselves familiar with the CPL ‘Bubble’, its biosecurity rules and the two battlegrounds.

Also, with the isolated structure of the ‘Bubble’, the mental approach to this season will be key for the players. However, the Trinidadian players will have a bit of an edge, having played most of their cricket all year round across the Twin Island Republic.

The Dwayne Bravos, Sunil Narines, Kieron Pollards, Lendl Simmons and other other ‘Trini’ stars of the cricket world, will be on display given their records at home and with the two venues, most notably Queen’s Park Oval, basically serving as home clubs for those players.

With a number of Trinidadian cricketers scattered across the respective franchises, those familiar with the conditions, whether team or individually, will certainly headline the ‘Bubble’, come the next few days when the quest for the crown begins.