St Kitts & Nevis Patriots aim to shake underdog status

ST KITTS and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) are one of three competing 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 teams that have never lifted the coveted crown.

This year’s edition will be the ninth staging of the annual tournament but SKNP’s seventh showing since they first featured in 2015.

Their best performance came in 2017 when they reached the final for the first time but lost to Trinbago Knight Riders, who captured their second of four titles to date. Over the years, the franchise have churned out varying results.

In their first two years, they finished bottom of the six-team table. From there, SKNP improved immensely and placed second and third in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The following year, they slipped to the fourth position and returned to the bottom rung in 2020, with just one win from their nine matches.

Throughout their CPL campaign, the Kittitian and Nevisian franchise have always been dubbed underdogs. This year, however, SKNP have bolstered their all-around attack and are expected to bounce back from a challenging last season.

Luckily for the team, all 33 matches of the 2021 CPL will be played at home in Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts.

For a second consecutive year, the entire tournament will be played in one country and in a bio-secure bubble to limit inter-island travel and curb the spread of covid19.

Owing to the pandemic, the tournament was played in its entirety at two venues – Brian Lara Cricket Academy and Queen’s Park Oval – in Trinidad last year without spectators.

This year, however, the host nation will permit fully vaccinated patrons to view matches at Warner Park. They have opted to allow 50 per cent capacity to the venue’s 8,000 seats.

With travel and quarantine restrictions still applicable in St Kitts and Nevis, the home franchise may hold a slight twelfth man advantage with vaccinated home fans cheering on from the stands.

BOWLING ATTACK

As it stands, SKNP have three of the competition’s top five bowlers in their line-up this year. Recently acquired all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, with 106 scalps from 79 matches to his name after eight years competing with TKR and the formerly known Red Steel.

The three-time title-winning captain was swapped with SKNP’s wicketkeeper/batsman for the 2021 edition as he searched for a new challenge.

SKNP skipper Rayad Emrit, who also played for Barbados Tridents and Guyana Amazon Warriors, is the CPL’s second-leading wicket-taker having captured 96 from 85 matches. This is his third season with the franchise.

Additionally, pacer Sheldon Cottrell is the competition’s fifth highest wicket-taker having achieved 74 scalps from 57 matches. He also previously played with the now-defunct Antigua Hawksbills but will serve as an integral force in SKNP’s bowling.

Also to be featured in their pace attack are Netherlands’ Paul Adrian van Meerkeren, who played English county cricket with Somerset and Durham. Youngsters Dominic Drakes (Barbados) and Colin Archibald (St Kitts and Nevis), both left-arm bowlers, are also expected to bring added firepower.

In their spin department, Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed leads the charge. The 39-year-old will feature for SKNP for the first time since his prior stint with TKR over the past two seasons.

Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who impressed at the Lanka Premier League in December, was also snapped up by the Patriots. He will team up with TT’s Jon-Russ Jaggesar, who has the carrom ball (releasing the ball by flicking it between the thumb and a bent middle finger to impart spin) among his variations.

The “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle may also feature with a couple of his right-arm off-breaks.

BATTING

The likes of Gayle and “The Champion” Bravo in any batting line-up are a cause for concern for opposing bowlers. The pair have decades of experience on the local, regional and international circuit and are world-renowned for their dominant batting exploits.

Gayle has hit the most sixes (162) in the tournament thus far. He (2,354) is also is the second highest CPL run-scorer behind leader Lendl Simmons (2,436) of TKR. The big-hitting Jamaican also holds the third (116), fourth 111 not out), sixth (108 not out) and eighth (105) highest scores of the tournament.

Although all were achieved during his lengthy stint with the Jamaica Tallawahs, Gayle is indeed a batting asset to the SKNP. He also has the fourth-highest average (39.23) and is second, behind Simmons once more, with the most fifties (17).

Additionally, in-form T20 international batsman, Evin Lewis is expected to lead SKNP’s opening batsmen. Lewis has shown good form with the bat in the shortest format recently with the West Indian team and hopes to carry that momentum into this year’s CPL.

Jamaican batsman Fabian Allen, Guyana’s Shane Rutherford and TT’s Joshua Da Silva are all favoured to deliver with the bat as well. Pakistani Asif Ali and England’s Ravi Bopara will add some international flavour to SKNP’s batting lineup as SKNP aims for a return to the top ranks of CPL.

SKNP open their 2021 account on Thursday and play in the second match against the Barbados Royals at Warner Park from 7pm.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots Team – Rayad Emrit, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Jon-Russ Jagessar, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Devon Thomas, Dominic Drakes, Shane Rutherford, Fawad Ahmed, Asif Ali, Joshua Da Silva, Colin Archibald, Mikyle Louis, Ravi Bopara and Paul Van Meekeran