CPL final: clash of the SA veterans, du Plessis and Tahir

Big picture: A rich SA flavour to the CPL final

After having had to wait 11 years for a maiden CPL trophy, Guyana Amazon Warriors are now just one step away from winning back-to-back titles. Imran Tahir was targeted when he was appointed Amazon Warriors’ captain last season at 44 – Tahir said “everyone was sending jokes” about it – and having been retained as captain this year, he will be looking to lead Amazon Warriors to glory once again, in front of their home fans, in Providence.

At 45, Tahir became the first overseas bowler to 100 wickets in the CPL and continues to rock the league with his variations and celebrations. He had joined Amazon Warriors in 2018 and has remained with the side for seven seasons, which is quite rare in the cutthroat world of franchise T20 cricket. Midway through this season, Tahir suffered an injury, but he recovered to forge a potent partnership with Gudakesh Motie, the local left-arm fingerspinner, and Moeen Ali, the English offspinner. The trio has been hard to get away, especially on the spin-friendly surfaces in Providence.

Amazon Warriors have also loaded their side with spin-hitters like Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope and Moeen. After not playing a single game in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Hetmyer has reminded the world of his T20 pedigree, hitting 391 runs in 12 innings at an average of 43.44 and strike rate of 187.98 in this CPL heading into the final.

Since the start of CPL 2023, Amazon Warriors have lost just four games at home, with two of those losses coming at the hands of St Lucia Kings, including the Qualifier 1 earlier this week. Despite losing tosses and losing key personnel – like Heinrich Klaasen even before the start of the tournament – Kings have remained a formidable force under Faf du Plessis, who, like Tahir, is a familiar face at the CPL.

At 40, du Plessis is still going strong. This is his most prolific CPL in terms of runs – 384 runs in 11 innings at an average of 38.40 and strike rate of 148.83 – and if it culminates in a title, it could potentially raise his stocks ahead of the IPL retention deadline and player auction. Du Plessis’ stint in CPL 2023 was cut short by a tennis-elbow injury, but he has worked his way around that this season, dovetailing well with Johnson Charles, who has reinvented himself as a 360-degree batter.

While this is the St Lucia franchise’s third CPL final, this will be du Plessis’ first – he had suffered an injury before the title clash in 2021, when they lost to St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. However, he is used to the pressure that a final brings, having been part of Chennai Super Kings for a number of years in the IPL.

Kings’ coach Daren Sammy also has some unfinished business: in his last match as CPL captain, he lost to Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2020 final. Can he and du Plessis upstage Amazon Warriors at their home ground and lead Kings to their first CPL title?

Form guide

Guyana Amazon Warriors WLWWW (last five T20s, most recent first)
St Lucia Kings WLWWW

In the spotlight: Moeen Ali and Alzarri Joseph

Just over three months after not bowling in England’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India in Providence, Moeen Ali is now on the verge of winning a title, in his first CPL stint, at the venue. He has bagged 14 wickets in nine innings at an average of 11.35 and an economy rate of less than five. With the bat, he has floated up and down the order and in the qualifier 2, he scored an unbeaten 44 to put Amazon Warriors in the final.

In another spin-dominated CPL, Alzarri Joseph is the most successful fast bowler with 15 wickets in 11 innings. His ability to hit hard lengths and generate extra bounce have served him well, and on potentially slow surfaces in Guyana, he could take the conditions out of the equation and provide a point of difference to Kings’ attack. Du Plessis, too, trusts Alzarri to bowl the tough overs, having also worked with him at the SA20 (Joburg Super Kings) and IPL (Royal Challengers Bengaluru).

Team news: Who will open the batting for GAW?

Since the start of CPL 2023, Amazon Warriors have used 14 openers with only Rahmanullah Guraz and Saim Ayub, who has missed this season for national duty, getting more than five innings each at the top. It remains to be seen if Moeen will open alongside Gurbaz again in the final on Sunday. Amazon Warriors will also have to make a choice between the fingerspin of Kevin Sinclair and the pace of Shamar Joseph.

Guyana Amazon Warriors (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Romario Shepherd, 6 Keemo Paul, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Raymon Reiffer, 9 Kevin Sinclair/Shamar Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Imran Tahir (capt)

Will Kings stick with Johann Jeremiah, who had made his CPL debut in Qualifier 1, or will they go back to Shadrack Descarte?

St Lucia Kings (probable): 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Roston Chase, 4 Ackeem Auguste, 5 Tim Seifert (wk), 6 David Wiese, 7 Johann Jeremiah/Shadrack Descarte, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Khary Pierre, 11 Noor Ahmad

Pitch and conditions: Spin to win?

Though the Providence pitch used for the last two games against Kings saw the ball come on to the bat better, the venue has traditionally rolled out slow tracks. Rain had interrupted Amazon Warriors’ chase in the first qualifier and though rain has been forecast for Sunday morning as well, the forecast is more promising for the evening. Dew could be a factor later in the night.

Stats and trivia

Quotes

“We gelled well together last year, and we knew we had to work hard to win the competition. Coming back and defending the title is a bigger challenge.”
Guyana Amazon Warriors captain Imran Tahir

“I feel like we’ve adapted well wherever we’ve played, bar two games at home where he were a little bit slow on reacting to those conditions.”
St Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis