St Kitts & Nevis Patriots welcome Jamaica Tallawahs to Warner Park in their first home game of the 2019 Caribbean Premier League on September 10. The live action is scheduled to start at 18:00 local time.
After away defeats to Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors, the Patriots will be hoping to start their block of home matches with a first win of the campaign. They have already seen Devon Thomas hit his stride as he scored 62 against the Warriors last time out.
Jamaica Tallawahs also lost their first away game, to the Knight Riders. They have signed some big players for this season, however – Chris Gayle switching from the Patriots in one of the most notable of those.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots stuck with the same team for both of their away defeats, with Kjorn Ottley playing his first T20 match in the opening game of CPL 2019 and late replacements Alzarri Joseph and Mohammad Hafeez also featuring. Their bowling was punished last time out, with Afif Hossain among the options to switch things around – Usama Mir could make way.
Evin Lewis came up short last time out, having been the Patriots’ top scorer in the first match, but his form for the West Indies recently shows that he has been back to his best in recent times. Sheldon Cottrell took an excellent 3-13 in the first match to continue a fine year on a personal level, before claiming 1-35 last time out. His salute celebration will surely be brought out a lot more in this competition.
Devon Thomas top-scored in the last game, hitting seven fours and two sixes on his way to 62 from 49 balls. He just lacked some big-hitting support at the other end until Fabian Allen came in.
Late replacement Jerome Taylor played in the opening game but Kennar Lewis – another late addition to the squad – did not. The Tallawahs lacked top-order runs in what was always going to be a difficult chase but their top six was the strongest it could have been on paper and changes are less likely.
Andre Russell, already proving his form, having starred in the Global T20 Canada final prior to this tournament, hit 44 from 24 balls in the opening game, having earlier taken 1-37 with the ball.
Chris Gayle showed signs of his best form with three sixes on his way to 28 in the first game – had he stayed in a couple of overs more, as he was starting to motor, it could have been a different story. So often it is too.
Glenn Phillips, a centurion in a losing cause when these teams met in the play-offs last season, the wicket-keeper-batsman will want to improve on his cheap dismissal last time out as he opens up with Gayle.
Head-to-head
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Jamaica Tallawahs faced each other three times last season, winning one game apiece before the Patriots claimed victory in the play-offs. The Tallawahs still edge the head-to-head record with five wins to the Patriots’ four.
