Tridents, Warriors to clash in CPL season opener

A clash between champions Barbados Tridents and Guyana Amazon Warriors will set in motion the 2015 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in Bridgetown next month.

The contest is set to be played under lights at the Kensington Oval on June 20. It will be a repeat of last year's final at Warner Park in St. Kitts when Tridents came away with an eight-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected affair, reports CMC.

"The rivalry between Tridents and Amazon Warriors will be pretty intense and no doubt we would like to confirm to people that we would have beaten Guyana, even if the game had finished. No doubt Guyana will be looking to make amends for that hard loss so the opening day should be a cracker and one that I am really looking forward to be a part of," said Jason Holder, who plays for Tridents.

Sell-out crowds are expected for CPL which runs from June 20 to July 26 and features some of the biggest names in international Twenty20 cricket.

The 23-year-old Holder, the West Indies one-day captain, believes the reigning champions are more than capable of successfully defending their title.

"We have a well balanced side in terms of our batting. We have plenty of batsmen who have not only done well in our domestic cricket in the Caribbean but guys like Dilshan Munaweera who did well for us in the Champions League last year," said Holder.

"Shoaib Malik has obviously done well for us and obviously he has a very good international record. There's also Robin Petersen and Justin Ontong so I'm very pleased with the make-up of our side."

CPL features six franchises - Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, St. Lucia Zouks, Guyana Amazon Warriors and St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots - contesting 33 games.