St. Lucia Zouks v Jamaica Tallawahs @2:30pm 7/12/2014
Limacol Caribbean Premier League
Friday, July 11 2014
newsday
THE 2014 Limacol Caribbean Premier League begins today, from 2 pm at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada. The league will run from July 11 to August 16 with 30 matches taking place over 37 days.
The tournament will kick-off with the Guyana Amazon Warriors, captained by new West Indies Test skipper Denesh Ramdin and featuring global T20 stars Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons, taking on Antigua Hawksbills, led by Marlon Samuels, coached by former Australian boss Tim Nielsen, and mentored by Sir Viv Richards.
Speaking at yesterday’s launch, the League’s chief executive officer (CEO) Damien O’Donohoe, captains, coaches and legendary West Indies mentors, all speak of their excitement for the competition, and promised a bigger, better and even more exciting spectacle than last year’s tournament, thereby upholding its nickname ‘Biggest Party in Sport.’
Players including Kieron Pollard, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle and Daniel Vettori have been getting into the swing of things as they took part in a beach cricket match with local youngsters in Grenada, experiencing first hand the excitement that people on the Spice Isle have for the arrival of the CPL.
Tomorrow, legendary West Indies openers Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes go head-to-head as team mentors and the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, led by Dwayne Bravo, face off against Keiron Pollard’s Barbados Tridents.
The opening weekend draws to a close with Chris Gayle’s defending champions, Jamaica Tallawahs, taking on West Indies T20 captain, Darren Sammy, and the St Lucia Zouks.
“After the huge success of the inaugural tournament, we’ve got a lot to live up to, but we’re confident this year will be even better,” said O’Donohoe. “We’ve got some fantastic players, coaches and mentors on board and you can expect bigger hitting, bigger crowds and an even bigger party.”
Gayle remarked, “there’s nothing better than playing in front of full crowds in the Caribbean. CPL is the Biggest Party in Sport and I’ve already seen how excited everybody is for the tournament to come to Grenada, so I can’t wait to give the fans something to cheer about.”
Trinidad-born ex-India all-rounder Robin Singh, coach of Barbados Tridents said, “I’ve coached and played all over the world, but the atmosphere in CPL is something else. The players are raring to go and we’re looking forward to putting on a good show for the people of the Caribbean.”
Richards noted, “last year’s tournament was a massive success. The cricket was of high quality, and it reignited local recognition in the domestic game, so I’m looking forward to more of the same in 2014.”
The final week of the tournament, at Warner Park in St Kitts, will host ‘Beefy’s Bash’, and All- Star charity match featuring Sir Ian Botham, Brian Lara and Piers Morgan, as well as a concert by American hip-hop megastar, Rick Ross.