Main points to note from CPL's week three

THE THIRD week of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) ended over the weekend, with eight matches at both the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

As the tournament enters its final leg of preliminary round matches at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, here are a few observations from the Trinidad encounters.

ROYALS SIT COMFORTABLY IN TOP SPOT

What a difference a year makes. In the 2021 Caribbean Premier League, held exclusively at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts, the Royals finished last with six points (three victories) from their ten matches.

From that team, only then-skipper Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh jnr, Justin Greaves, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop, Azam Khan and Oshane Thomas stayed on board for the 2022 edition.

Captain David Miller and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, who have made key contributions with the bat, have left the tournament to report for international duty with South Africa, but they have brought in another trump-card in Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman, especially for the notoriously spin-friendly conditions in Guyana.

With the burly off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall returning to the starting line-up, and the consistency shown by pacers Holder, and the left-arm pair of Obed McCoy and Ramon Simmonds, it seems that the Royals have all their bases covered as they currently sit atop the standings with 14 points from eight matches, six points clear of the Jamaica Tallawahs.

AMAZON WARRIORS IN DANGER OF MISSING PLAYOFFS

The Guyana Amazon Warriors have been deemed as the bridesmaids of the CPL, as they were the runners-up on five occasions in the tournament's ten-year history, while they were semi-finalists in the 2020 and 2021.

However, the Amazon Warriors are in the cellar position with three points from six matches.

They can look at one positive - they will be playing their last four preliminary round games at home, and will be boosted by the news that veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be replacing fellow left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who, like wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, have joined the South Africa team for the limited-overs tour of India.

Al Hasan, West Indies left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Veeerasammy Permaul, rookie off-spinner Junior Sinclair, part-time left-armer Chandrapaul Hemraj and the evergreen Pakistani-born South African Imran Tahir are the slow bowling options available to captain Shimron Hetmyer.

But the Amazon Warriors batting have been unconvincing this year. Klaasen struck the lone half-century (in St Lucia) thus far while himself, Hetmyer and Hemraj are the only batsmen to amass over 100 runs.

TKR BATTING LINE-UP REMAINS UNSETTLED

During the 2021-22 off-season, the Trinbago Knight Riders management decided to move on from the experienced trio of Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin. Nicholas Pooran, the West Indies white-ball captain, returned to the team, with seasoned campaigner Andre Russell making the switch to the TKR from the Jamaica Tallawahs.

The TKR played two matches at the Queen's Park Oval and two at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. At the Oval, the TKR were beaten by eight wickets against the Royals but spanked the Amazon Warriors by 24 runs. And, at Tarouba, the TKR defeated the Tallawahs by four wickets but fell to a one-run loss to the St Lucia Kings.

The consistency shown by off-spinner Sunil Narine, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and veteran fast bowler Ravi Rampaul have been heartening, but the batting remains a worry.

Tion Webster, who have failed to make any useful contribution with the bat, has been dropped from the starting XI, but Pooran, captain Kieron Pollard and Russell have only shown glimpses of their potential.

CHARLES JUSTIFYING HIS RECALL TO WORLD CUP SQUAD

Johnson Charles was a part of the 2016 victorious West Indies T20 World Cup squad, and has a stand named after him at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. But the hard-hitting opener, with a style reminiscent of former WI and Barbados opener Philo Wallace, was out of the Windies One Day International and T20 teams later that year.

It seemed like Charles would have to rely on the CPL for regional recognition but, instead of drifting into the wilderness, he has decided to make full use of his opportunities, especially since rejoining the St Lucia franchise this year.

With 342 runs from eight games, Charles is the leading run-getter, followed by Mayers with 295.

Mayers and Brandon King were the preferred Windies opening pair for most of 2022, while Evin Lewis has been recalled by the WI selectors for the World Cup. Charles has been named as a wicketkeeping option in the World Cup squad, but his batting exploits can force him into the WI first XI when the team head to their qualification stage, in Australia.