St.Lucia Zouks gear up for their first sem-final appearance since 2016, when they take on the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the late game on Tuesday, September 8 in the Hero Caribbean Premier League. Both teams finished with the same points total for this season after the group stages, and the head-to-head record for this season is also tied one apiece for the Zouks and the Warriors. With little to choose between the two franchises, except this semi final to go down to the wire.
“Whatever you did till now doesn't matter. You just have to play well in the semifinal,” said skipper Daren Sammy after the game against the Tallawahs. With the semi final being a straight eliminator this time around, both teams would need to bring their best to the field to get one step closer to the trophy.
Head-to-head record
St.Lucia Zouks | Guyana Amazon Warriors |
5 | 10 |
The Guyana Amazon Warriors have a better head-to-head record, but the spoils have been shared this season between the two sides. The Zouks won the clash in August, while the Warriors triumphed in the previous meeting. However, the semifinals present a clean slate for both sides to get a memorable win and get one step closer to the 2020 CPL title.
Watch out for:
Roston Chase has been the leading run scorer for the Zouks this season, but his batting has tapered off in the last few games. He scored a less than a run a ball 32 in the previous game against the Jamaica Tallawahs, and would be looking to make improvements on his strike rate going into the semis. Batting has been the achilles heel for the Zouks in 2020, with no standout performer up the order. Therefore, going into a crunch semi final game, the team management would hope for experienced players like Chase to step up and deliver the goods.
Javelle Glenn has been one of the finds of the season for the Zouks with his spin bowling and late cameos. He was the pick of the bowlers against the Tallawahs and has been Daren Sammy’s go to player to defend low totals. With the semis being played at the Brian Lara Stadium, which has been the venue for most of the games this season, one can expect the pitch to favour the leg spin of Glenn.
Opponent Corner
Imran Tahir is the joint leading wicket-taker of the 2020 CPL season, and will be the main threat for the Zouks with the ball in hand. Apart from Tahir, skipper Chris Green has been one of the most economical bowlers for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, despite bowling a chunk of his overs in the powerplay.
On the batting front, the West Indies duo of Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer have been the most consistent performers. Pooran is the only player to score a century in CPL 2020 so far, and Hetmyer was the top scorer when the Zouks played the Warriors a few days back. Opener Brandon King has had a below par season so far, but he has always been a big game player and the Warriors players would hope for the veteran opener to shine. The Warriors played their last group game on September 3 and will be well rested for the semis.
Probable XI: Andre Fletcher, Rakheem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Javelle Glenn, Daren Sammy (c), Scott Kuggelejin, Kesrick Williams, Zahir Khan
NOTE:The aforementioned line-up is an educated guess at best, and the final decision rests with the captain and the team management depending on various external factors.
