Caribbean Premier League History
The 2020 Caribbean Premier League season, which gets underway next week, is the eighth edition of the event. The tournament sees six different islands competing for glory and although the Covid pandemic has ensured the upcoming cricket campaign of the CPL will be played solely in Trinidad, there should still be lots to enjoy.
Before the season starts however, let us take some time out to look at what we have seen in the previous seven terms, which may give us a guide of who could win the 2020 season.
Caribbean Premier League Background
Only three sides have won this title. The team with the most wins are the Trinbago Knight Riders, or Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel cricketers as they were known in the early days of the Caribbean Premier league of cricket. They have won the title three times in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and with the 2020 version being in Trinidad they are probably the team to watch.
Barbados Tridents and Jamaica Tallawahs cricket teams are the other two sides to win the competition. The Tallawahs were the inaugural winners in 2013 and then won it again in 2016, while the Tridents are the defending champions of the Caribbean Premier League this year having first claimed the silverware in 2014.
Spare a thought though for the Guyana Amazon Warriors cricketers. They have made no fewer than five of the seven finals of this cricket competition but they have always had to settle for the role of bridesmaid rather than the bride, including in each of the last two seasons. If ever a team needs something to spur them on that record is likely to do it for the Amazon Warriors.
Caribbean Premier League Best Players
It probably comes as no surprise that a tournament in the Caribbean has Chris Gayle as the leading run scorer in this cricket league history. He has scored 2,354 runs throughout the competition.
The self-acclaimed ‘Universe Boss’ has opted out of the upcoming season which means that it will be Lendl Simmons of the Trinbago Knight Riders who will be the leading historical batsman on show this term. He has 2,080 runs to his name and those two are the only players to have scored more than 2,000 runs.
When it comes to taking wickets in the Caribbean Premier League, nobody can better the 97 that the Trinbago Knight Riders’ talisman Dwayne Bravo can boast. He will be looking to pass the 100 mark over the course of the upcoming cricket season.
The next two on the list are Krishmar Santokie and Rayad Emrit with 85 wickets. Santokie is not in the upcoming season while Emrit will skipper the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
Cricket Stars To Watch On The CPL
Although the Guyana Amazon Warriors were beaten in the final last season, there was no stopping batsman Brandon King, who dominated the run charts with 496 from his 12 matches at an average of 55.11. His 32 sixes were the most hit by anyone all season too.
One of the key reasons why the Barbados Tridents cricketers were the champions last term of the Caribbean Premier League was the rise of Hayden Walsh Jr and he is another star to watch out for this cricket season. The West Indies international bamboozled batsmen all term with his spin bowling, taking 22 scalps in just nine outings at an average of 12.68 and a strike rate of a wicket every 9.1 balls. Watch out for the cricketer this season!