The hype has been tremendous here in St. Lucia for the CPL and the Beausejour in Gros Islet is sold out for their encounter. Everywhere you turn there are signs reminding the Red Steel men that : ‘Zouks are on Fire.’
Skipper Dwayne Bravo knows the battle ahead, and is looking forward to it.
He said, "We are here to play good cricket. We have a good unit and we have prepared well and the time has come to show our quality.
“Our team is fit and raring to go and the senior men have already started their work in terms of leading the younger guys and ensuring that they benefit from their experience, going into a tournament like this.
“We are very happy with the team unity and everything is in place for a good performance. We know that the opposition has good quality in their team and they will be coming at us hard but we are prepared and looking to continue our dominance over them.”
The Zouks have never beaten the Red Steel in the CPL but will be confident because they have a more experienced unit going into this year’s tournament. They will also bank on the firepower of Shannon Gabriel who is now in their ranks, after bowling the Red Steel to victory over the Zouks in last year’s encounter.
The Zouks have tremendous firepower going into the match because some of the Caribbean’s fastest bowlers are in their line-up. In addition to Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards will also enjoy bowling on the Beausejour pitch that is expected to encourage the fast men. Four players who played for Red Steel last year is now with the Zouks, Gabriel, Edwards, Delorn Johnson and Ross Taylor - who will join the Zouks after New Zealand’s tour of England.
The king of St. Lucia Darren Sammy will lead the men in blue out on the field today and he is confident of getting past the Red Steel.
“We have a very good unit and we will definitely have a better season than last year. We have never taken out the Red Steel but there is always a first time and we are going to do all in our power to get that first win against them. St. Lucians will be coming out to support us in numbers and we will definitely enjoy this game,” he said.
St. Lucia Zouks: Darren Sammy (capt), Andre Fletcher, Delorn Johnson, Eddie Leie, Fidel Edwards, Henry Davids, Johnson Charles, Keddy Lesporis, Kemar Roach, Kevin Pietersen, Kyle Mayers, Liam Sebastien, Shane Shillingford and Shannon Gabriel. Head Coach Stuart Williams, assistant Ian Allen.
