WILL DUFFIELD looks ahead to the 2022 Caribbean Premier League
The 2022 Caribbean Premier League gets underway on Wednesday, August 31, with six teams eyeing up a place in the final at Guyana's Providence Stadium come the end of September.
The Cricketer takes a look at some of the key themes to keep in mind during the tournament...
The influence of the 6ixty
Prior to the 10th edition of the Caribbean Premier League, players flocked to St Kitts & Nevis for 'The 6ixty', a new T10 competition.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots picked up the inaugural title, beating Trinbago Knight Riders by three wickets in the final after finishing fourth in the table. Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Royals were the other two sides to reach the knockout stages but St Lucia Kings and Guyana Amazon Warriors missed out.
With all six teams drawing from very similar player pools for the CPL, are the results of The 6ixty a sign of what is to come?
As far as form players go, Finn Allen was the standout batter, smashing 138 runs at a strike rate of 226.22 for Jamaica Tallawahs, while Andre Russell (137 runs for TKR) and Andre Fletcher (130 runs for St Kitts) also impressed. However, no one scored more than 60 runs for Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Nicholas Gordan (Jamaica Tallawahs) and Dominic Drakes (St Kitts), meanwhile, were the leading wicket-takers, collecting six apiece.
Finn Allen will start the CPL in hot form [Joe Allison/Getty Images]
Overseas strength
There has been a step up in overseas signings compared to 2021, with South African pair David Miller and Quinton de Kock among the marquee picks. Both players will represent Barbados Royals.
The former, who scored 481 runs at a strike rate of 142.73 during the IPL, is set to take over from Jason Holder as captain while de Kock will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes following a quiet and inconsistent summer.
Trinbago Knight Riders have strength in New Zealand opener Colin Munro, who will join the team after competing for Trent Rockets in this year's edition of The Hundred. He will partner with fellow Kiwi Tim Seifert, who has scored nearly 3,000 runs in T20 cricket. Other signings include the only American to feature in the tournament, Ali Khan, and Sri Lankan pair Maheesh Theekshana and Seekugae Prasanna.
Guyana Amazon Warriors have two world-class spinners at their disposal in Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamshi. Their experience and trickery will be vital if the Warriors are going to succeed in this year’s competition.
St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots have strengthened their bowling options, picking up Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) and South African Dwaine Pretorius while St Lucia Kings have retained talisman Faf du Plessis and finisher Tim David (Singapore). Pakistan duo Imad Wasim and Muhammed Amir bolster Jamaica Tallawahs' bowling attack.
However, no English players have been drafted into the CPL for this year – most likely a result of the packed schedule and overlap with The Hundred.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots won the 2021 CPL
Patriots will look to make history… again!
St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots surprised everyone last year by claiming their first ever CPL title - they had only reaching the final only once before and finished bottom of the group stage on three occasions prior to their success.
Drakes was instrumental in a thrilling final against Saint Lucia Kings, who themselves were hunting for a maiden title. An unbeaten 48 runs off 24 balls meant the Patriots reached the target of 160 on the final ball of the tournament. A new name was engraved on the trophy and history was made.
The Patriots will be looking to continue their good form this year, retaining key players like Drakes, Joshua Da Silva and Sheldon Cottrell. They are led by an ultimate allrounder in Dwayne Bravo who has hit over 6,000 runs and taken over 600 wickets in 500-plus matches in T20 cricket. He will be hoping to lead his side to consecutive titles, which has only occurred once before in the competition's history.
Trinbago Knight Riders out for revenge
By their high standards, last year was a disappointing performance by the Trinbago Knight Riders. They failed to make the final after a surprising defeat by 21 runs to the Saint Lucia Kings. Their infamous top order all made starts, however none went on to make a big score. This led to an abrupt end to their competition, after they once again topped the group stage.
Trinbago Knight Riders are the most successful team in the CPL, lifting the trophy four times (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020). They are the team that everyone fears, as they attract some of the finest white-ball cricketers across the globe. They heavily rely on their captain, Kieron Pollard who has a T20 average of 31.2 and made history when he became only the third batsman to hit six sixes in one over, playing against Sri Lanka in March 2021, but have been bolstered by the arrivals of Andre Russell and Nicolas Pooran.
Trinbago Knight Riders are on the hunt for their fifth title [Randy Brooks/Getty Images]
Players to look out for
Who are the other big names you might want to keep your eye on during the 2022 CPL?
The biggest move of the off-season saw Shai Hope sign for the Guyana Amazon Warriors where he will join Ronsford Beaton and Veerasammy Permaul. The wicketkeeper -batsman averages just shy of 50 runs in ODIs and had an incredible tournament back in 2018, when he tallied 288 runs which was more than any other player at Barbados Royals, his now former club.
Another notable change sees Rahkeem Cornwall move from Saint Lucia Kings to join Barbados Royals. He is an entertaining player to watch and has a great deal of versatility too, capable of big-hitting and deceptive bowling, which will be a crucial part of the Kings' line-up.
You can count on Nicholas Pooran and Jayden Seales to have good tournaments for the Knight Riders. They have the experience of playing in white-ball cricket internationally, while Russell has also joined the four-time champions. He boasts impressive figures, scoring over 7,000 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate a shade under 170. He's also an athletic fielder and an experienced seam bowler – a genuine triple threat.
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