GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – Two-time reigning champions Trinbago Knight Riders will face 2017 losing finalists, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, in the opening match of the Caribbean Premier League on September 4.
In fixtures announced this week by organisers, TKR will face Jamaica Tallawahs in a blockbuster two days later, which will bring together the likes of Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine against Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.
Last year’s losing finalists, Guyana Amazon Warriors, clash with Darren Sammy’s St Lucia Stars in their opening match on September 5 before taking on Patriots two days later.
The seventh season of the CPL will feature 34 matches over six weeks in the tournament which runs until October 12.
“It is very pleasing to get the fixture list agreed for this year. It is always a challenge and we would like to thank everyone involved in helping to pull this all together,” said CPL chief operating officer, Pete Russell.
CPL is the region’s premier Twenty20 tournament, featuring domestic and international players competing for six franchises – TKR, Amazon Warriors, Patriots, Tallawahs, Stars and Barbados Tridents.
The draft earlier this month featured a record number of players, pointing to continuing high interest in the Caribbean tournament.
Chief executive, Damien O’Donohoe, said the league was expected to continue on its upward trajectory this season. “We are delighted with how Hero CPL continues to grow,” he said.
“Last season we saw more than 200 million viewers watch the tournament and Hero CPL also made a huge impact on the economies of the countries we visited. We are certain that this year we will see those numbers grow once again.”
Matches have been so far confirmed for Barbados, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts & Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.
There has been no word yet, however, on matches scheduled for Guyana.
