Amazon Warriors, Antigua Hawksbills open CPL campaign

Bridgetown (Barbados), May 10 (IANS/CMC) Last season’s losing finalists, Guyana’s Amazon Warriors will raise the curtain on the second edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in July when they face Antigua Hawksbills in the opening game in Grenada.

Organisers formally released the fixtures on Friday for the tournament which runs from July 11 to August 16 across eight Caribbean countries, reports CMC.

The Warriors boast the likes of West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine, attacking New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson and Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez.

Hawksbills, meanwhile, will put on show the talents of West Indies stroke-maker Marlon Samuels, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera.

Last season, Guyana went down to eventual champions Jamaica Tallawahs in the final staged at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

The July 11 fixture will be the first of a triple-header at the National Stadium in Grenada, one of two new venues for this year’s campaign along with St. Kitts.

Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel and Barbados Tridents will do battle in the second game, with St. Lucia Zouks and the Tallawahs clashing in the last game.

Surprisingly, Warner Park in St. Kitts will stage the bulk of this season’s matches, with six preliminary round games, the two semi-finals and grand final all scheduled for the venue.