Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will open this year's Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on August 18 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba, San Fernando.
The tournament which runs from August 18 to September 10 will take place at two venues alone for the first time, the BLCA and the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain.
The 33-match season will see 23 of those matches taking place at the BLCA and 10 at the Oval.
The first match will see last year’s runners-up, Guyana Amazon Warriors, take on Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), while the second match will be last year’s champions, Barbados Tridents taking on the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
TKR manager Colin Borde is eager for the battle to start, saying: "Yes we are keen for the cricket to start. We open against the Warriors and we will be ready for that. Our players are professionals and they have been doing their own thing in terms of preparing for the tournament and when they get together they will polish off their preparations for this tournament. Guyana has always been tough and we will be looking to pull an early victory over them to set the tone for the tournament."
Manager of the Warriors, Omar Khan said: "It is always a tough ask when you come up against the TKR. The history of the tournament shows that it is always a fierce battle between the two and we are going into that battle fully aware of that. We all know that it is a tournament with a difference this year as it will be more than just being physically ready but also mentally given the current situation concerning the COVID-19 but we are ready. All our players will be here by August 3.
Fans will have to wait until game 22 for a repeat of last year’s final with the Tridents taking on the Amazon Warriors.
The tournament will take place behind closed doors in a bio-secure environment with a series of stringent protocols in place to protect those involved in the competition and the wider population, from the spread the COVID-19 virus.
Damien O’Donohoe, the Hero CPL’s chief executive officer, is excited about the upcoming season.
“This year will be a different CPL, but the standard will be higher than ever. We have seen the appetite for live sport since it has returned after a prolonged absence, and the interest in CPL will be higher than ever with it being the first franchise T20 tournament to return.”
Speaking about the announcement of the tournament fixtures Hero CPL’s COO, Pete Russell, said: “We would like to express our gratitude to the government of T&T for helping us to put on this tournament in such difficult circumstances. We are delighted that we are able to deliver a tournament that is ensuring the safety of the public and the players and that will be of such a high standard.”
Hero CPL 2020 Fixtures
BLCA
August 18
Trinbago Knight Riders vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, 10 am
Barbados Tridents vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 5.30pm
August 19
Jamaica Tallawahs vs St Lucia Zouks, 10 am
Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 5.30pm
Aug 20
St Lucia Zouks v Barbados Tridents, 10 am
Trinbago Knight Riders v Jamaica Tallawahs, 5:.30pm
Aug 22
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v St Lucia Zouks, 10 am
Guyana Amazon Warriors v Jamaica Tallawahs, 5.30pm
Aug 23
Trinbago Knight Riders v Barbados Tridents, 10 am
Aug 24
Guyana Amazon Warriors v St Lucia Zouks, 5.30 pm
Queen’s Park Oval
Aug 25
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Barbados Tridents, 10 am
Jamaica Tallawahs vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, 5.30 pm
Aug 26
St Lucia Zouks vs Trinbago Knight Riders, 10 am
Barbados Tridents vs Jamaica Tallawahs, 5.30 pm
Aug 27
St Lucia Zouks vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 10 am
Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders, 5.30 pm
Aug 29
Barbados Tridents vs Trinbago Knight Riders, 10 am
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots vs Jamaica Tallawahs, 5.30pm
Aug 30
Barbados Tridents vs St Lucia Zouks, 10 am
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, 5.30 pm
BLCA
September 1
Jamaica Tallawahs vs Trinbago Knight Riders, 10 am
Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Barbados Tridents, 5.30 pm
Sept 2
Trinbago Knight Riders vs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 10 am
St Lucia Zouks vs Guyana Amazon Warriors, 5.30 pm
Sept 3
Jamaica Tallawahs v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, 10 am
Barbados Tridents v Guyana Amazon Warriors, 5.30 pm
Sept 5
Trinbago Knight Riders v St Lucia Zouks, 10 am
Jamaica Tallawahs vs Barbados Tridents, 5.30 pm
Sept 6
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots v Trinbago Knight Riders, 10 am
St Lucia Zouks v Jamaica Tallawahs, 5.30pm
Sept 8, TBC
Semi final 1 (1st v 4th)
Semi final 2 (2nd vs 3rd)
Sept 10, TBC
Final