Roneil Walcott
FOUR-TIME Caribbean Premier League (CPL) champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will look to get back to winning ways when they face the cellar-placed Barbados Royals from 7 pm at Kensington Oval, Barbados, on September 12.
Currently second on the six-team table due to an inferior net run rate to reigning champs St Lucia Kings, captain Nicholas Pooran’s TKR team have a chance to move to the CPL summit and secure a top two spot heading into the playoffs, which start on September 16 in Guyana. Both TKR and the Kings have amassed 12 points from their nine matches and the former team will want to sign off the preliminary phase of the tournament with a bang.
After winning four games in a terrific home-stand at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), Tarouba, TKR have lost momentum a bit in their last two games with losses to the Kings and their arch-rivals, Guyana Amazon Warriors.
In the final match of their home leg on September 3, TKR were bowled out for a modest 109 before the rampaging Kings stormed to victory with more than eight overs to spare. In Guyana, three days later, TKR lost a nail-biter to the Amazon Warriors after a Kieron Pollard blitz of 54 not out from 18 balls helped the TT franchise post a fighting score of 167 for five. Already without the services of Pakistan seamer Mohammad Amir for the Warriors clash, TKR played the extra batsman, which just hurt them in the end as the Guyanese franchise got over the line by three wickets and with one ball to spare.
With a handful of veteran players in their team, getting five days away from the park and the opportunity to reset may not have been the worst thing for TKR.
“We’ve obviously had some busy challenges before this. It’s nice that this break in Barbados has come now,” said TKR opener Colin Munro, who has rocketed to second on the 2025 CPL scoring charts with 369 runs in nine innings.
“I think the team needed it and certain individuals needed it as well. We’ve had two really good training sessions. Hopefully, we could come tomorrow (September 12) and put a good performance on just before the finals.”
After press time on September 11, the Royals were in a must-win tussle with 2021 champs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. And though the Royals have struggled this season, Munro said they cannot be taken lightly as they have a dangerous unit on paper.
“They (the Royals) obviously haven’t had the season they would have liked, but they have some quality players throughout their lineup. They’re batting heavy and obviously they have Chris Green as well, who has come in and had some success lately with the ball.
“There’s some serious power there…but that’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes you win games and sometimes you lose from winning positions. They’ll try to come out and spoil somebody’s party and hopefully it’s not ours.”
This season, TKR have been heavily reliant on the 38 year old Munro and their other seasoned pros, with West Indies T20 Breakout League players McKenny Clarke and Nathan Edward showing glimpses of their undoubted ability in the field and with the ball, respectively.
Munro’s opening partner Alex Hales, 36, has scored 223 runs with a strike rate of 133.14. Meanwhile, Pooran has scored 240 runs with two fifties, with Pollard showing some devastating form with 291 runs and a rapid strike rate of 185.35. Pollard has scored three fifties this season.
With the ball, the Pakistani pair of Amir and Usman Tariq have taken 11 wickets apiece, with Akeal Hosein and recently retired Windies allrounder Andre Russell snaring ten and nine wickets respectively. Veteran mystery spinner Sunil Narine has grabbed just six wickets, but his miserly economy of 5.75 is unmatched in this year’s tournament.
With a victory over Barbados, TKR will give themselves two chances to qualify for the September 21 final. Munro said the team is ready to rise to the occasion and get that winning feeling back.
“Hopefully, we don’t need that life. But it’s in our hands to go out there and win tomorrow night (September 12) and that will guarantee us a top two finish and give us that life for the final.”
