Saint Lucia Kings will commence their Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022 campaign on Thursday, September 1 against Trinbago Knight Riders at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts.
The 10th edition of the tournament promises to be an exciting affair, packed with entertaining all-round cricketing action, something Caribbean cricket is very well known for.
The Kings narrowly missed out on the CPL title last year, losing in the final to Saint Kitts & Nevis Patriots. They went down in the summit clash in 2020 as well but look poised to get the trophy home this time.
The team of this year certainly has the makings of a champion.
South African superstar Faf du Plessis has been named skipper this year but Roston Chase will lead the team in the opening match against the Knight Riders since the former joins the squad a few days later.
With the bat, Roshon Primus and Johnson Charles will look to carry forward their excellent form from the 6ixty. Mark Deyal, who slammed a blazing 78 against the Knight Riders in the semi-final last season, will also shoulder the scoring responsibilities.
Prolific ball spells should be possible with Alzarri Joseph leading a potent bowling unit that features the newly-added Kiwi pacer Scott Kuggeliejn and short format specialist Kesrick Williams.
However, the ever-dependent David Wiese, who took a five-wicket haul in the previous meeting against TKR, will take the field only after the opener.
Trinbago Knight Riders, on the other hand, also possess a strong unit with the return of West Indies' white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran and the inclusion of big hitter Andre Russell. They will provide a tough test as the presence of Sunil Narine, captain Kieron Pollard and Colin Munro, the top scorer in the CPL among all overseas players, makes Knight Riders a star-studded line-up.
This means that the Kings have been handed a tough match to open their account, but the squad is ready and prepared for it.
Saint Lucia Kings defeated Trinbago Knight Riders at the semi-final stage last year by 21 runs and have all the qualities to repeat the feat when they meet on September 1.
