[www.inewsguyana.com] – A number of regional stars who are down to compete with various franchises of the 2014 Limacol Caribbean Premier League have already set the tone for what their expectations are going to be come next month.
CPL stars Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn and Odean Brown were present at the launch of the Chris Gayle Academy at Lucas Cricket Club in Kingston, Jamaica, where they shared their thoughts on what fans can expect at the second staging of the Limacol CPL.
Excited to be taking over as captain of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, recently appointed West Indies test skipper Denesh Ramdin said he is looking forward to the experience.
“Captaining the Guyana Amazon Warriors is a new experience for me but I am ready to take up that role and I will be working hard to ensure we come out as winners this season,” he said.
With the Guyana Amazon Warriors not making many changes in the squad, captain Ramdin believes that the team will mesh smoothly.
“We have a number of players on the team who can truly make a positive impact from the start, like Martin Guptill, Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons, just to name a few, so I am confident in my team. We did not make a lot of changes, so we should not take a long time to gel,” he added.
West Indies ODI and Red Steel captain, Dwayne Bravo, was succinct when he said “a good start leads to good momentum and that is what we did not have last season”.
Last season, the Red Steel lost their first three games and ended up clinching a spot to the semi-finals on the penultimate day of the group stages by winning their match against the St Lucia Zouks.
His teammate Sulieman Benn, the 6ft 7in spinner who took four wickets in the CPL last year, had nothing but praise for the tournament.
“CPL is one of the best things to come out of the Caribbean and I am truly honoured to be a part of it and play for the Red Steel,” he said.
‘Big Benn’, as he is affectionately called, was retained by the Red Steel who will open their account on July 12 against the Barbados Tridents in Grenada.
One player who is new to the CPL is 32-year-old leg-break spinner Odean Brown, who was drafted by the Jamaica Tallawahs. Despite battling injuries in the last three years, the Westmoreland-born man is delighted to be involved.
“It’s great being part of the CPL experience. This is my first season and, with all the injuries I have had, I am happy to finally have a shot and it is even better as I am playing with the Jamaica Tallawahs,” he beamed.
Brown’s message to the Jamaica Tallawahs fans is simple. “Please come out to Sabina Park and support the Tallawahs. We have a solid team and are looking to retain the title; it will be exciting.”
With the Limacol CPL only three weeks away, expectations are growing exponentially as tickets are set to go on sale soon.
