Tallawahs, Kings clash in CPL eliminator

CAPTAIN of Jamaica Tallawahs Brandon King said despite defeating St Lucia Kings twice in the preliminary phase of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League, those results are behind them as they focus on the playoffs.

The Tallawahs and the Kings will meet in the eliminator at 7 pm on Tuesday at the Providence Stadium, East Bank Demerara, Guyana. The winner will advance and the loser will be knocked out.

King said, "We try not to pay attention to what happened before the playoffs. I think last year was a good example. We also finished in a similar position and we had to win three games to win the title and we did. What really matters is now, (but) the guys will take confidence from the fact we played against the opposition. We know what they have."

The Tallawahs only sealed a spot in the playoffs with a 122-run victory over St Lucia Kings on Sunday. In the opening match of the tournament on August 16, Tallawahs got past the Kings by 11 runs.

King said his team never panicked with a win being needed over the Kings to advance to the playoffs "Definitely there was not panic. What we tried to do is just try to play our best cricket every time we go and play a game. It won't happen every time, but fortunately for us the past two seasons now we played our best cricket close to the playoffs."

Kings captain Sikandar Raza said, "What we are looking for is some of the good performances we've put on during the group phase, try and replicate those performances in the playoffs when it matters most."