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It’s the West Indies’ premier T20 domestic competition and now it’s time to take a closer look at the Caribbean Premier League.
About the Format
Six teams take part in the competition which traditionally runs from the end of August through the whole of September.
The CPL consists of an initial group stage which is then followed by a series of knockout games. In the opening phase, all sides will play each other twice. At the end of this sequence, the four best performing teams will progress to the next round.
There now follows a series of playoffs which are similar to the IPL and other major T20 competitions around the world. First up is a qualifier between the first and second placed teams with the winner going straight through to the final.
Next we have an eliminator between the third and fourth placed sides. The loser of that game goes home while the winner progresses to a second qualifier. In that second qualifier, they will face the loser of qualifier 1. The winner of this final playoff game will then progress to the final.
It’s a complex system, but it’s one that is intended to give an advantage to the best teams from the group stages.
Teams List & Best Players
The six teams taking part in the Caribbean Premier League are:
- Barbados Royals
- Guyana Amazon Warriors
- Jamaica Tallawahs
- St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
- Saint Lucia Kings
- Trinbago Knight Riders
Barbados Royals
The Barbados Royals will be skippered in 2022 by South Africa’s David Miller. He’ll be joined by his compatriot Quinton de Kock while the best domestic players include Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Oshane Thomas and Rahkeem Cornwall.
Guyana Amazon Warriors
Captaining the Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2022 is Shimron Hetmyer. He will head an impressive roster of West Indian talent which also includes Odean Smith, Keemo Paul and Shai Hope.
Flying the flags for various international teams are Tabraiz Shamsi, Colin Ingram, Imran Tahir, Shakib al Hasan, Paul Stirling and Heinrich Klaasen.
Jamaica Tallawahs
The exciting West Indian batter Rovman Powell is the current captain of the Jamaica Tallawahs. Joining him in the squad are his international teammates Fabian Allen, Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks.
The Pakistan pair of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir are key overseas players and they are backed by the Australian spinner Chris Green.
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots
The experience of Dwayne Bravo will be vital as he leads his St Kitts and Nevis Patriots team into the CPL. He’ll be backed by brother Darren Bravo and other West Indian internationals including Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Joshua da Silva and Andre Fletcher.
Heading up a strong overseas contingent are Dwaine Pretorius, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dewald Brevis.
Saint Lucia Kings
The Saint Lucia Kings bring in an experienced overseas leader with Faf Du Plessis skippering the side. Tim David and David Wiese will also fly in for the CPL.
Local players looking to bring the title to Saint Lucia include Roston Chase, Johnson Charles and Alzarri Joseph.
Trinbago Knight Riders
Trinbago Knight Riders are now led by Kieron Pollard who has recently chosen to focus on franchise cricket. He’ll be leading some exciting fellow West Indians including Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell.
Support will come from overseas players including Tim Seifert, Colin Munro and Ali Khan.
Which Team has Won the CPL the Most Times?
The most successful team in the history of the CPL are the Trinbago Knight Riders. The team has won four titles since the 2013 inception and the 2021 tournament.
The Knight Riders’ first title came in 2015 and they claimed their fourth CPL trophy in the 2020 edition
.CPL Winners by Year
2021 Winner – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
St Kitts and Nevis Patriots beat the Saint Lucia Kings in the 2021 CPL final by a three-wicket margin. Kings batted first and posted 159/7 but the Patriots chased the total down from the very last ball of the match.
2020 Winner – Trinbago Knight Riders
Trinbago Knight Riders claimed their fourth CPL title in 2020. In the final, they took on St Lucia and won the game by eight wickets.
St Lucia batted first and were dismissed for 154. In reply, the Knight Riders chased down their target for the loss of two wickets and with 11 balls to spare.
2019 Winner – Barbados Tridents
Barbados Tridents won their second CPL title when they beat the Guyana Amazon Warriors by 27 runs in the 2019 final. Barbados made 171/6 from their 20 overs with Jonathan Carter hitting 50 at the death.
In reply, Guyana fell short, making 144/9 from their 20 overs.
2018 Winner – Trinbago Knight Riders
In 2018, Guyana were the beaten finalists again when they were outdone by Trinbago Knight Riders in the final.
The Amazon Warriors batted first and made 147/9. In their reply, the Knight Riders chased the target down, losing just two wickets along the way.
2017 Winner – Trinbago Knight Riders
The winners of the 2017 CPL were Trinbago Knight Riders who beat St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the final. St Kitts batted first and made 135/6 from their 20 overs.
The Knight Riders struggled at times in their reply but finally chased down their target for the loss of seven wickets with one over to spare.
2016 Winner – Jamaica Tallawahs
The 2016 edition of the CPL saw the Jamaica Tallawahs win their second trophy. Guyana Amazon Warriors batted first in the final but were dismissed for just 93 on the final ball of their twenty overs.
The chase was easy for Jamaica who lost just one wicket as they passed their target with more than seven overs left.
2015 Winner – Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel
Trinbago won their first CPL trophy in 2015 as they beat Barbados in the final. Playing as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, they batted first and made 178/5 from their 20 overs.
In reply, Barbados fell short by 20 runs as they made 158/4.
2014 Winner – Barbados Tridents
The 2014 edition of the Caribbean Premier League was won by Barbados who beat Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final.
Weather affected the game and it needed the intervention of Duckworth Lewis. Barbados made 152/6 batting first and Guyana fell eight runs short of their revised target.
2013 Winner – Jamaica Tallawahs
The first ever winners of the CPL were the Jamaica Tallawahs. Guyana were the losing finalists as they made just 128/5.
It was a simple target for the Tallawahs who chased it down for the loss of three wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Conclusion
An interesting statistical point to note here is that Guyana Amazon Warriors have been the losing CPL finalists on no fewer than five occasions. Using statistics up to and including 2021, they had yet to win the trophy so they must be considered as the unluckiest team in the competition.
The West Indies have produced some of the best limited overs players in the game so the CPL is bound to be an exciting tournament. It’s a quick and thrilling competition and I recommend tuning in.
