The Barbados Tridents will resume their quest for the 2026 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title when they come up against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons tonight at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at 7 p.m.
Since their last match in Jamaica on August 16, the Tridents have been in Antigua where they have had a mixture of downtime, planning sessions, as well as training and fitness routines at the stadium and their team hotel.
Tridents assistant coach Roddy Estwick said they are confident and the fans can expect another full team effort.
Paul Nixon, the Falcons head coach, said they will look to pick up the pieces and get back top winning ways.
“We haven’t brought our ‘A’ game yet to the tournament, but we are quite happy with the results so far, which is two wins in the two matches. Our main focus now is the Antigua game, and we have to play a lot better than we have before,” Estwick told NATION SPORT.
“We have to be a lot more disciplined in our bowling and a lot more disciplined in the fielding. The batting has gone well, so once we continue to play good ‘team cricket’ we should be in good shape.” Yesterday afternoon, the team held another rigorous fine-tuning in the scorching heat which has been the weather pattern recently. Fortunately, there was a strong, cooling breeze from the east side to offer some respite. All eyes were on Brandon King, who is still regaining full flexibility and mobility after an injury he sustained in the field during the recent Test series against Pakistan in Trinidad. He batted in the nets under the watchful eye of head coach Trevor Penny and a decision will be made today on his participation in tonight’s encounter. They will be desperate to have him in the starting line-up as he brings the vast experience of 194 matches. King played in both matches so far this season and recorded scores of 73 off 51 balls against the Kingsmen and 39 off 28 balls against the Kings. There has been a change in the squad with Shian Brathwaite, the swashbuckling opening batsman, coming in as a replacement for Kadeem Alleyne, the dynamic allrounder. Up to press time there has been no confirmation nor a statement of explanation from the Tridents hierarchy and efforts to ascertain the precise reason for Alleyne’s omission have been unsuccessful.
Tridents enter this contest with confidence and a record which shows two wins from two matches.
The Falcons have blown hot and cold with three impressive wins, but they also suffered three defeats which included a massive blow-out at the hands of Guyana Amazon Warriors two days ago.
The Tridents will be quite aware of the opponents’ bowling attack which is well balanced and built around the pace and hostility of Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales as well as the clever seam bowling of Shamar Springer and Joshua James.
They also have a strong spin attack with Shadab Khan, who has won two Man of the Match awards so far.
There is also skipper Mooen Ali and Rahkeem Cornwall, with their off-breaks, the left-arm spin of Fabian Allen as well as Pakistani Sufiyan Muquim, who is a left-arm chinaman and googly specialist.
FULL SQUADS:
Barbados Tridents: Chris Green (captain), Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Zachary Carter, Shian Brathwaite, Ramon Simmonds, Shadrack Descarte, Rivaldo Clarke, Zishan Motara, Jakeem Pollard, Johann Layne, Kevlon Anderson, Quinton de Kock, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, George Linde, Daniel Sams.
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons: Moeen Ali (captain), Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Springer, Jayden Seales, Anderson Phillip, Joshua James, Anderson Mahase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Karima Gore, Jahmar Hamilton, Amir Jangoo, Kusal Perara, Hassan Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqim
Tridents Season Schedule: August 11: beat Jamaica Kingsmen by 5 runs at Sabina Park August 16: beat Saint Lucia Kings by 9 runs at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground August 25: vs Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium August 28: vs Trinbago Knight Riders at Queen’s Park Oval September 1: vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park September 5: vs Trinbago Knight Riders at Kensington Oval September 6: vs Saint Lucia Kings at Kensington Oval September 10: vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Kensington Oval September 12: vs Jamaica Kingsmen at Kensington Oval September 13: vs Guyana Amazon Warriors at Kensington Oval