St Lucia Kings are preparing to host their first home match of the season, up against the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Both the teams won their opening two matches of this season’s Caribbean Premier League, and sit top of the table in 1 and 2 entering match 10. Both teams are well-rounded and have strong power-hitting cores, with Warriors having racked up 266 runs in their previous match against the Patriots. The victor of this match will go clear at the top of the table.

LAST FIVE MATCHES RESULTS

ST. LUCIA KINGS: W L L W W

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS: L W W W W

ST. LUCIA KINGS likely XI

Batters: Faf du Plessis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Ackeem Auguste

Allrounders: David Wiese, Roston Chase, Khary Pierre

Wicketkeeper: Tim Seifert, Johnson Charles

Bowlers: Matthew Forde, Alzarri Joseph, Noor Ahmad

GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS likely XI

Batters: Shimron Hetmyer

Allrounders: Dwaine Pretorious, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd

Wicketkeeper: Shai Hope, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azam Khan

Bowlers: Imran Tahir, Kevin Sinclair, Junior Sinclair, Gudakesh Motie

STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (ST LUCIA KINGS)

1. TIM SEIFERT

The powerful Kiwi wicketkeeper has scored 90 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 236.84. His finishing skills have been key for the Kings, with 64 off just 27 in their previous match.

TIM SEIFERT IN CPL 2024

INNINGS - 2

RUNS - 90

AVERAGE – 90.00

STRIKE RATE – 236.84

50s/100s – 1/0

2. NOOR AHMAD

Noor Ahmad was player of the match in St Lucia’s opening win, with figures of 3/18. He also has a tremendous economy of 4.75 in these two matches. With his left-arm leg-spin, Noor is a difficult player to bat against in these conditions.

NOOR AHMAD IN CPL 2024

INNINGS: 2

WICKETS: 3

STRIKE RATE: 16.00

ECONOMY RATE: 4.75

AVERAGE: 12.66

Players who can make a difference (ST LUCIA KINGS)

1. Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa has had a strong start to his CPL career with a dazzling 68*(35) in their victory against the Patriots.

2. David Wiese

The Namibian all-rounder has plenty of experience in franchise cricket and his range of variations and accurate medium-pace bowling makes him a strong choice.

STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS)

1. SHIMRON HETMYER

Shimron Hetmyer bludgeoned a terrific 91(39) with 11 maximums in Warriors’ record-breaking innings against the Patriots. The brutally powerful southpaw is the hot pick for this contest.

SHIMRON HETMYER IN CPL 2024

INNINGS: 2

RUNS: 110

AVERAGE: 55.00

STRIKE RATE: 183.33

50s/100s: 1/0

2. GUDAKESH MOTIE

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took 3-wicket hauls in each of the Warriors’ first two matches and already has 6 wickets while remaining fairly economical in high-scoring situations.

GUDAKESH MOTIE IN CPL 2024

INNINGS - 2

WICKETS - 6

STRIKE RATE – 8.00

ECONOMY RATE – 7.37

AVERAGE – 9.83

Players who can make a difference (GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS)

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz

The Afghanistan opening batter put on a terrific showing at the top of the order with a showing of 69(37) in the previous match for Warriors.

2. Dwaine Pretorious

Dwaine Pretorious was the leading wicket-taker in CPL 2023 and has continued with strong performances so far in this tournament.

TEAMS HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

VENUE AND PITCH

Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet will be hosting this match. This is the first match of this year’s CPL taking place in St Lucia. Only two matches were completed at this venue in 2023, with several matches rained out. Teams prefer to chase at this venue, which offers enough to both team in either innings.

MATCH PREDICTION

Both teams have started the tournament on a very strong note with positive results, and will be confident about their chances in this contest. Nevertheless, Warriors likely have a narrow edge despite home advantage of St Lucia, with the mammoth performance against the Patriots meaning they are in excellent shape. Since they are also on a 4-match winning streak, they are favourites by 65%.

FANTASY XI

Batters: Shimron Hetmyer (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Wicketkeepers: Tim Seifert, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (vc), Shai Hope

All-rounders: Keemo Paul, Roston Chase, Dwaine Pretorious

Bowlers: Noor Ahmad, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph

Backup players:

Batter: Faf du Plessis

Wicketkeeper: Johnson Charles

All-rounder: David Wiese

Bowler: Kevin Sinclair

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