St. Kitts & Nevis to host CPL 2016 final

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have confirmed that the finals of this year's tournament will be played at Warner Park in St.Kitts & Nevis.

All four games of the knock-out stages of the biggest party in sport will be played at Warner Park, starting from Wednesday.

Commenting on the announcement, CPL CEO Damien O'Donohoe said, "After a lengthy process over the last number of months, we are delighted to announce that the finals will be held once more in St. Kitts & Nevis.

"Warner Park is an iconic and intimate venue and will be a fitting arena for the staging of the Play offs and Final, in what is shaping up to be a hugely exciting tournament. Having hosted the 2014 finals, we know that there will be a strong appetite across St. Kitts & Nevis who will no doubt welcome thousands of supporters from across the Caribbean and beyond during finals week.

The Honourable Shawn Richards, Deputy Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, and Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture said, "On behalf of the St. Kitts & Nevis government, I would like to express my delight that the finals of the biggest party in sport will be hosted here, in front of the most passionate fans in the Caribbean.

"We are truly honoured by this award by CPL and we will endeavour to host the greatest finals to date. I know that we can count on the great support of the people of St. Kitts & Nevis to turn up in huge numbers once more to see some of the greatest cricketing talent in the world. We look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors from near and far to savour the sights and rich heritage of our great nation."

This will be the second time that the finals have been awarded to the prestigious venue in St. Kitts.

Kieron Pollard's Barbados Tridents, who clinched the title last time out in 2014 in Warner Park, will no doubt be hoping that the selection of this year's finals venue is a favourable omen for what is set to be the most competitive CPL to date.

The CPL T20 tournament is played between six teams and is divided into a group stage and a knockout stage. In the group stage, the teams each play 10 matches overall, four of which are at home, with each team also playing two neutral venue games in Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida (from July 28-31).

In all, seven stadium will be used in this year's CPL:- Barbados (Kensington Oval), Fort Lauderdale (Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill), Guyana (Providence Stadium), Jamaica (Sabina Park), St. Kitts & Nevis (Warner Park), St. Lucia (Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium) and Trinidad & Tobago (Queen's Park Oval).