VINODE MAMCHAN
Rain has been pelting down in the tiny island of St Kitts over the past few days and even washed out the St Kitts Patriots versus St Lucia Stars match on Thursday night at Warner Park.
This is a worry for both Patriots and the Trinibago Knight Riders (TKR) as they meet in another Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) clash at the boutique venue this evening at 6 pm.
The rain has also affected TKR’s preparation going into the match and they will be hoping to remain fresh, as they have not been in action since Sunday.
Manager Colin Borde puts the long wait in between matches into context saying: "The long break between games in this part of the tournament can work both ways. We have tried to use the time to regroup, re-energise and refocus. The back end of the tournament will be filled with very close games coming up. For the next week thus far it was important to find the right balance of rest and recovery. mixed with hard work."
Borde added that the team has been treated wonderfully well since coming to St Kitts and they have kept their preparations quiet.
He said, "Since arriving here we have kept our preparations quiet and we are building up to more rigours work as we go into the clash on the weekend. We are happy with the work done by this unit thus far and we have a really committed bunch of guys in this TKR family."
Meanwhile, TKR more than likely will not tamper with their line-up for this match. Sunil Narine has the backing of the Trinbago Knight Riders management and players, so says Borde.
Speaking to Guardian Media Sports, the most successful manager in the CPL, Borde, gave Narine the thumbs up. Narine has opened in the six matches so far and has failed to get past 20 runs. This has caused concern among TKR fans who have been sharing their views on social media and call-in radio programmes.
However, Borde said,"Sunil has a role to play and understands his role. The captain and coaches alongside the team know that he will come good."
TKR, who has won four of their six matches and the last three on the road, is likely to play the same team that defeated the Barbados Tridents in their last match in Barbados on Sunday night.
The bowling unit was sound in restricting the home team to 128/8 off their 20 overs and after an initial stutter that saw the Knight Riders slipped to 60/4, Brendan McCullum slapped 66 to take them home.
The Patriots defeated the TKR in their first match in Trinidad and the visitors will be looking for revenge in this encounter. Patriots were due to battle lowly St Lucia Stars last night and going into that match they have played six matches with three wins and three losses.
Teams
Trinbago Knight Riders squad
Amir Jangoo, Anderson Phillips, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn, Colin Munro, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin,Dwayne Bravo, Hamza Tariq, Javon Searles, Shannon Gabriel, Kevon Cooper, Khary Pierre, Nikita Miller, Muhammad Ali Khan, Fawad Ahmed, Sunil Narine, Terrence Hinds.
St Kitts Patriots squad
Anton Devcich, Chris Gayle(c), Evin Lewis, Ben Cutting, Carlos Brathwaite, Mahmudullah, Tom Cooper, Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Devon Thomas, Fabian Allen, Shamarh Brooks, Jeremiah Louis, Alzarri Joseph, Ibrahim Khaleel, Javelle Glen, Hayden Walsh.