The Caribbean Premier League is still in its initial phase of the competition, and there have already been some quality matches so far. However, St Lucia Stars have not joined the Caribbean party yet as they are searching for their first win. They are set to face Barbados Tridents on Thursday.
St Lucia are aware of the need to collect their first points in CPL 2017 as the competition will get difficult as it moves ahead in the coming weeks. The situation looks quite poor for them, with an NRR reading -3.509. For them to improve upon such rate, they need to win big.
St Lucia may not possess big names of world cricket, but they have capable cricketers to get the work done on their days. Openers Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher will have to start brightly, and the likes of Marlon Samuels, Kamran Akmal and Jesse Ryder can bring their international experience to score big.
However, it is their bowlers, including Mitchell McCleneghan and Jerome Taylor, who will have to be on top of their game. The duo has a humongous task to contain the Barbados Tridents' batsmen. With established cricketers such as Dwayne Smith, Kane Williamson, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard representing Barbados, they have one of the strongest batting units in CPL 2017.
They have the right mix of batsmen with Williamson playing the stylish anchor role while others such as Smith, Pollard and Smith can bat around him.
It is not just about their batting line-up, they also have solid pacers including Wayne Parnell, Ravi Rampaul, Wahab Riaz among others.
Despite possessing a strong bunch of balanced and experienced cricketers, Barbados cannot afford to take their opponents lightly on Thursday.
Squads: St Lucia Stars : Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Kamran Akmal(w), Marlon Samuels, Jesse Ryder, Darren Sammy(c), Kyle Mayers, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jerome Taylor, Shane Shillingford, Eddie Leie, Obed McCoy, Timil Patel, Shane Watson, Sunil Ambris, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keddy Lesporis
Barbados Tridents: Dwayne Smith, Kane Williamson, Shoaib Malik, Akeal Hosein, Kieron Pollard(c), Nicholas Pooran(w), Christopher Barnwell, Wayne Parnell, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Damion Jacobs, Ryan Wiggins, Tino Best
Where to watch
The seventh match of CPL 2017 between St Lucia and Barbados will start at 8 pm local time, 5:30 am IST, 12 am GMT.
Live streaming and TV coverage information
India: TV: Sony Six, Sony ESPN. Live streaming: Sony Liv
UK: BT Sport. Live streaming: BT Sport online
Australia: TV: Fox Sports Live streaming: Foxtel Go
Bangladesh: TV: Sony Six. Live streaming: Sony Liv
Pakistan: Live streaming: Facebook
Middle East: TV: OSN. Live streaming: OSN Play
Sri Lanka: TV: Sony Six
Trinidad: TV: CNC-3
