PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Big-hitting New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum says Trinbago Knight Riders were bracing for tough opposition but planned to play an “attractive brand of cricket” when the Caribbean Premier League bowled off here tomorrow.
TKR are the defending champions after beating previous title holders, Barbados Tridents, in last season’s final, and McCullum said while a successful title defence was not guaranteed, they planned to give 100 per cent in each game of the June 29 to August 7 campaign.
The right-hander will be part of the line-up as TKR take on the Darren Sammy-led St Lucia Zouks in the opening game of the tournament at Queen’s Park Oval here.
“Every team has got good players in the CPL and I think that’s probably a mark of the tournament that it’s attracting the world’s best players combined with the Caribbean’s best players as well,” McCullum said.
“It’s going to be a tough game [against St. Lucia Zouks] but they’re all going to be tough games so from our point of view we’ve got a good team as well. So we’ve got to go out there and play in the style and the manner which gives us the most amount of satisfaction and hopefully we win the game.”
He added: “You can’t guarantee it, but either way I think we’ll have a good time in front of this crowd. I think that overall for the CPL it’s probably the same mantra right throughout the tournament.
“We can’t guarantee success, but we can ensure that we play hard, we fight hard and we have a good time while we’re at it, and we play an attractive brand of cricket that, not just the CPL, but more importantly Trinidad & Tobago are proud of.”
This season will be the first for McCullum in a league which has emerged as one of the most attractive on the global Twenty20 circuit.
The 34-year-old is a veteran of the shortest format, having plundered nearly 7 000 runs from 241 games at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 137. He has struck seven hundreds.
He joins the likes of South African Hashim Amla, Pakistani Umar Akmal and West Indies players Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine, in a squad that is again expected to challenge strongly.
McCullum said he was looking forward to stepping onto the field alongside his teammates and enjoying the atmosphere of the Oval.
“As an international cricketer you want to be playing in front of crowds that are passionate and against the best in the world,” he noted.
“Playing here in Trinidad is going to be amazing, and playing in front of that crowd is going to be amazing as well. As Bravo said, it’s going to be like our 12th, 13th and 14th man on the field and I’m looking forward to experiencing that too.
“I heard it (Queen’s Park Oval) is an amazing place to play, when they’re on your side. I’ve only played against them here and it wasn’t quite as much fun.”
