The tenth edition of the much-awaited Caribbean Premier League is around the corner. Six fantastic teams are ready with their troops to battle it out in their quest for the decorated trophy.
As we inch closer to the premier T20 league of the Caribbean Islands, let's find out the strengths of the last year's runners-up St Lucia Kings and analyse what challenges they might face in the mega-event.
Strength
Strong Middle-order
Tim David in action [PC: Twitter]
St Lucia's middle order is studded with the likes of Roston Chase, Tim David and David Wiese. While Chase emerged as the top scorer last season with 446 runs at a splendid average of 49.55 and a magnificent strike rate of 144.33, David was the third-best batter in the tournament with 282 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 146.11. On the other hand, David Wiese has a plethora of experience playing in the T20 leagues around the world and has recently played some impactful knocks. Considering these facts, we label St Lucia's middle order as their biggest strength.
Weakness
Death Bowling
St Lucia's pace arsenal looks decent on paper, having the likes of Alzarri Joseph, Kesrick Williams and Scott Kuggeleijn. However, the numbers of these bowlers in the death overs are abysmal, to say the least. While Joseph has an ordinary economy of 11.16, Williams and Kuggeleijn have collectively gone at 9.7 runs an over in the 16-20 overs phase. So, we reckon the death bowling will certainly be an issue for the Kings this season.
Opportunity
Preston McSween
McSween in action [PC: Twitter]
Preston McSween has been impressive in the domestic circuit for quite a few years now. However, he hasn't got enough chances in the CPL due to the presence of more renowned names. But as the Kings don't have a left-arm pacer this year, we might see McSween getting some chances to show his bowling prowess in the shortest format.
Threat
Openers' vulnerability against left-arm spinners in PP
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Faf du Plessis [PC: Twitter]
St Lucia Kings do have a pretty decent opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Johnson Charles. However, both are vulnerable to left-arm off-spinners in the powerplay. While Charles' career average is just 24.6, Faf averages a mere 13.16 against the slow left-armers in the powerplay since 2021. This allows the opposition to attack this pair with a left-arm off-spinner straightaway.
Strongest XI
Faf du Plessis (c)
Johnson Charles (wk)
Mark Deyal
Roston Chase
Tim David
David Wiese
Scott Kuggeleijn
Alzarri Joseph
Jeavor Royal
Kesrick Williams
Preston McSween
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