Gayle aiming to whip up a storm in Lauderhill

Gayle aiming to whip up storm

FLORID, USA:

Jamaica Tallawahs captain, Chris Gayle, believes that the historic Lauderhill leg of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) starting this week in Central Broward Stadium can lift the profile of the competition to a new level, as the high-flying Tallawahs get set to do battle in back-to-back games against the in-form St Lucia Zouks on Saturday (12 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.).

The prolific left-hander has continued his fine run of form in a competition he has made his own since 2013 and is currently ranked in third position in the Hero CPL's leading run-getters, with 260 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 159.5 and an average of 52.

Though he is still undergoing treatment on a back injury which has troubled him of late, his strong batting form, coupled with his 23 Hero Maximums (sixes), has reasserted his reputation as one of the game's most devastating batsmen.

Speaking on the eve of the landmark ties in Central Broward Stadium, which start tomorrow night when Guyana Amazon Warriors face a crunch clash with a Barbados Tridents side who need two wins to have any hope of reaching the Hero CPL Finals, the 36-year-old said that he was pleased with his side's form, which propelled them to the top of the league table with 13 points.

"First of all, I think it will be a great atmosphere based on what happened over the last couple of years when the West Indies played New Zealand (in Central Broward Stadium). I think that the CPL will bring out a crowd once again and, you know, with the atmosphere that they've seen on TV I'm sure they'll want to experience it for themselves. Hopefully, we can get a good start on Thursday and progress over the weekend as well," Gayle said.

"I'm happy on a personal point of view, as well as a team point of view to actually be at the top of the table. Hopefully, we can maintain the momentum which we left in Jamaica and ... to play against the Zouks on Saturday and Sunday. We need to win at least one of the games and then move on to the Finals and wait for them in St Kitts and see what happens. The guys have been playing good all-round cricket, so you can't fault the effort. I just want them to keep the some momentum going."

DIFFERENT SCENARIO

The big left-handed opener added: "They (St Lucia Zouks) are going to be dangerous coming off three wins. Momentum is always good in a T20 game. We're outside of our home turf now so it's going to be a different scenario, so we have to make the necessary adjustments now and see what the conditions have to offer us as well. Hopefully, everybody can pitch in and be ready for that cause.

"I'm sure you'll see some Jamaican flags flying around. The support is actually key for us. It's going to be interesting as well (because) it's going to be noisy, it's going to be a great atmosphere and at the end of the day, hopefully, everybody can walk away happy and move on to the Finals in St Kitts."

Continuing, Gayle said: "The US is cricket-oriented when you look at the mixed culture over here in the US. So I think you have a huge cricket base and cricket fans here as well. From a West Indies point of view as well, we have tried to break into the US market for years now and haven't been successful. It was always a bit 'here and there'. So hopefully, the CPL will actually be consistent with games here in the US. If it's just a one-off thing then it will be a problem for cricket in the United States as well. So if it can actually progress, I know that this leg (of matches) will be a good one for CPL."

Standings

Teams P W L Tied N/R Pts Net RR

Jamaica Tallawahs (Q) 8 6 1 0 1 13 +1.502

Guyana Amazon Warriors 8 5 3 0 0 10 +0.017

St Lucia Zouks 7 4 3 0 0 8 -0.050

Barbados Tridents 8 3 4 0 1 7 -0.184

Trinbago Knight Riders 7 3 4 0 0 6 -0.102

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 8 1 7 0 0 2 -1.022