One of the greatest rivalries in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will take place today, when the T&T Red Steel plays the Guyana Amazon Warriors in their third match of the Hero 2015 championship at Warner Park in St Kitts, at 4 pm.
The two teams have had some epic battles in the past and today should be no different. What adds spice to the contest is the fact that the Akmal brothers from Pakistan would battle each other halfway across the world. Kamran will suit up for the T&T Red Steel, while Umar will play for the Amazon Warriors.
The Red Steel is yet to record a win but the week-long break in St Kitts was well utilized by coach Simon Helmot to work on areas of the team's game that he thought needed to improve.
Red Steel has not been impressive on the road so far, gathering just three points from their two matches. Their first game ended in a no result for which they got one point, while they lost heavily to the Barbados Tridents in their second match.
Helmot thinks it is all about getting the basics right: "We just need to get the basics right and get the guys doing what they know best. Now is not really a time to panic we have matches to go and it is important that we peak at the right time."
Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan was also calling for basic cricket from his players. "We have not had a good start for varying reasons but I am not making any excuses. The players have the ability, we know that it is all about going out there and playing intelligent cricket. The guys have been working hard since getting together but they have not been able to piece together a good performance. It is disappointing because you always want to pick up points on the road. This team has a big reputation in the CPL having reached two finals and they are going to come back. The guys have the experience to do it and we have been talking about what is needed."
The Amazon Warriors were looking for their first win last evening as they came up against the home team St Kitts Patriots at Warner Park. The second game of the double header last night saw the St Lucia Zouks battling the Barbados Tridents.
Both teams will be hoping for a much improved pitch as the matches to date there this season has not produced the runs it did last year. It has been slow with the ball stopping and not coming unto the bat nicely as it did last year.
The fans here are coming out in huge numbers to support the games and the home team will be playing first today when they take on the Jamaica Tallawahs under the midday sun.
Cricket has been the talk on the street here since the CPL came around the although the population is just under 40,000, everyone seems to want a ticket to go to the CPL.
Teams
T&T Red Steel: Dwayne Bravo (capt), William Perkins, Cameron Delport, Kamran Akmal, Jacques Kallis, Yohan Botha, Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Derone Davis, Miguel Cummins, Javon Searles, Jason Mohammed, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Kevon Cooper. Head coach Simon Helmot, assistants David Williams and Imran Jan.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Sunil Narine, Assad Fudadin, Brad Hodge, Chris Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Lendl Simmons, Merchant De Lange, Paul Wintz, Ronsford Beaton, Veerasammy Permaul, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Trevon Griffith and Umar Akmal.