All four teams confident as Hero CPL approaches crunch time
Captains on a quest! - From left: Barbados Royals, Kyle Mayers; Guyana Amazon Warriors, Shimron Hetmyer; St. Lucia Kings, Faf Du Plessis and Jamaica Tallawahs, Rovman Powell (Delano Williams photo)
Captains on a quest! - From left: Barbados Royals, Kyle Mayers; Guyana Amazon Warriors, Shimron Hetmyer; St. Lucia Kings, Faf Du Plessis and Jamaica Tallawahs, Rovman Powell (Delano Williams photo)

By Clifton Ross
JUST four teams remain in the hunt for this year’s Hero CPL title and the respective captains have said their charges are raring to go as they approach crunch time.

Kyle Mayers, the Barbados Royals skipper; Shimron Hetmyer of the Guyana Amazon Warriors; Faf du Plessis of St. Lucia Kings and Rovman Powell of the Jamaica Tallawahs, were all confident during Monday’s media briefing held at the new Pegasus Hotel.

The captains, with much to shoulder at this stage, all seemed to be in high spirits after each franchise had its own unique journey to reach the qualifiers.

Mayers said the Royals, who have been impeccable this season, having maintained the number one spot, are still confident despite their loss to Guyana on Sunday.

The opener, who had been in terrific form earlier in the tournament, said the Royals “really wanted to win to get some momentum”, referring to Sunday’s loss which helped the Warriors keep their hopes alive, more importantly gaining tons of confidence.

On the other hand, a confident Hetmyer said the Warriors are not getting too ahead of themselves, rather they have been staying focused on their tasks, playing every match like the final, stressing that the key was and will be to take it one game at a time.

Guyana will be keen on taking as much as they can from Sunday’s game, after crushing the Royals in a dominant display. So far, the Warriors have been keen on chasing or setting a big target, thanks to their in-form trio of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shai Hope and Shakib Al-Hasan.

Hetmyer himself seems to be itching towards a big score, while all-rounders Odean Smith, Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd have all been performing well when given the opportunity.

Faf du Plessis, the lone centurion among the four captains, credited Providence for being a world-class venue for batting. “It’s four strong teams and the wicket is playing well, so I think that sets up a nice quarter and semi-finals.”

The South African, who eased his way to a second CPL ton, the only player with two in the tournament’s history, further believed that batting will continue to play a big role going forward, hinting at the possible return of opener Johnson Charles.

Speaking on his team’s run and their upcoming agenda, Powell believes that the Tallawahs’ experience and tribulations this season have shaped them into a serious title contender.

The hard-hitting batsman admitted that his team suffered an “up and down” run this year, but credits his players’ continued efforts which all led up to their current position.

“It’s been an up and down season, but our guys played well in patches and we’re looking forward to the final. Now it’s the business end of the competition and we have to bring our ‘A’ game.”

Today’s tale of the tape will see the four top duking it out, starting with the Royals facing off against the Amazon Warriors in the first Qualifier which bowls off from 10:00hrs.

The St. Lucia Kings then wrap up proceedings under lights against the Tallawahs from 19:00hrs in the Eliminator round
Thereafter, the winner of the first match will secure a spot in Friday night’s final while the loser faces the winner of the Eliminator, during Wednesday’s round which bowls off from 19:00hrs.

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