PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsThe first Qualifier of the 2019 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will see Guyana Amazon Warriors host Barbados Tridents at Providence on Sunday (Monday in India).
Guyana have been unstoppable this season having won all ten of their league games and will be primed to win the encounter and claim a place in the final. Barbados have largely been inconsistent and will have to play out of their skins to get one up against a rampant Guyana unit against whom they lost both their league games.
Ground Details and Team Combination
The Providence Stadium has been a bowler’s paradise. A wicket has fallen every 17.3 deliveries here, with the batsmen only managing a run-rate of 7.6 across the tournament. Pace has held a slight edge over spin in terms of wickets (33 for pacers to 29 by spinners) but the latter have a far better economy rate, average and strike-rate.
Interestingly, the Guyana captain has bowled just eight overs of pace in the last two games at this venue as compared to 28.3 overs of spin. Another thing to note here is that the first Eliminator will also take place at this very venue on the same day so the surface is likely to deteriorate that much further by the time the first Qualifier gets underway.
Right-arm leg-spinners have been the most effective at Providence returning a wicket every 13.6 balls at a decent economy of 6.4. It’s a given that a spin-heavy outfit should be the way to go for your side.
Captaincy Suggestion:
Imran Tahir: The South African leg-spinner has been phenomenal this season. Barring the last league game against Trinbago Knight Riders, the wily leggie has returned at least two wickets in every outing. His numbers read a mighty 13 wickets in seven games at an average of 12.3, strike-rate of 12.5 and a perfectly settled economy of 5.9. He has been Malik’s trump card through the season and has delivered every time he has been asked to. On a surface which is likely to aid turn, Tahir might fetch you crucial points.
X-Factors:
On tracks that have been two-paced and not effective for stroke-making, Shoaib Malik has been exemplary all through the tournament. Often coming in tricky situations, the 37-year-old has delivered when it has mattered the most. That is reflective in his average which stands at 93.67, easily the best across the tournament. In all, he has struck 281 runs in 10 outings, striking at 124.9 which includes two half-centuries. He has also picked up five wickets in the seven innings he has bowled in at an economy rate of 5.8. Malik averages a healthy 78 at the Providence and also leads the run-scoring charts at the venue for this season (156 runs in five games).
Barring the fastest-ever CPL fifty, JP Duminy has not really set the tournament on fire but his quirky middle-order batting backed up by handy off-spin make him a hard man to keep out of any side. His bowling, in particular, is likely to be extremely effective on the slow Providence surface. He has so far scored 267 runs across 10 outings at an average of 33.37 and a strike-rate of 136.22. In addition, Duminy has also returned four wickets so far.
Hayden Walsh has played just six games so far this tournament but has easily been one of the more impactful performers. He is the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 17 wickets to his name at an eye-popping strike rate of 8.4 and an average of 10.6. Although his economy is on the higher side (7.6), his captain won’t mind him going for a few extra runs till the time he picks up regular wickets. Walsh has returned two wickets or more in every game that he has been a part of and can prove to be lethal on the Providence surface.
Weather
It is expected to be partly cloudy in Guyana, but the chances of rain are very minimal.
Suggested FanFight team
Johnson Charles, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Jean-Paul Duminy, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik(c), Nicholas Pooran(w), Chris Green, Hayden Walsh, Imran Tahir, Keemo Paul, Harry Gurney
