(CMC) – THE stage is set at Kensington Oval for a high-stakes Caribbean Premier League (CPL) eliminator on Wednesday night, as the Barbados Tridents host the Jamaica Kingsmen at 19:00hrs (7:00 pm local time).
With a spot in the next round on the line, the contest promises to be a tense affair, particularly given the recent history between the two sides.
The Tridents enter the match riding a wave of momentum, having secured back-to-back victories, including a thrilling two-wicket win over the Kingsmen earlier this week.
Barbados finished the group stage in third place with 12 points from a record of six wins and four losses. In contrast, the Kingsmen scraped into the playoffs with eight points, managing only four wins against six defeats.
Tridents captain Chris Green acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead, highlighting the danger posed by the Jamaican outfit.
“Playing the Jamaica Kingsmen is going to be a tough challenge,” Green said on the eve of the match. “They’ve got some dangerous players that can win the game from almost anywhere.”
Green referenced the sides’ previous encounter, a chaotic match that stretched into the early hours of the morning, as a turning point for his team’s season.
“We had a great, entertaining game with them the other night that finished at about 1:00 in the morning, which was mad, down to the last over, Gudakesh Motie getting us over the line,” Green recalled. “That moment, the noise and the atmosphere were amazing. I think not only did it secure a playoff position for us, but it was the turning moment where I really felt this whole island jump in behind us.”
While the Tridents hold the psychological advantage of having beaten the Kingsmen twice in the group stage, Green warned against complacency.
“Confidence is important, but it’s important not to get too far ahead because those two wins give them a lot of motivation to try and knock us off at home,” he noted. “It’s a knockout final now. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Tridents will lean heavily on the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Quinton de Kock, who has amassed 321 runs in 10 innings.
For the Kingsmen, the mood is one of reflection and determination. Captain Rovman Powell admitted the group stage was a missed opportunity, but insists his side is ready to correct their course.
“Yeah, obviously it’s disappointing. It’s massively disappointing,” Powell said. “You need some momentum, you need that good winning spirit to go into a playoff like this, especially when you’re playing the same team.”
Powell described the campaign as a “valiant effort” but acknowledged that errors have cost his team dearly. However, he views the eliminator as a chance for redemption.
“Looking forward to the playoffs, it’s for us, as individuals and as a team, to try to minimise those little errors that we make in those games,” he added.