The final battle

Call it a case of David versus Goliath or a battle between one of white-ball cricket’s best ever captains and one of its most destructive batsmen. But St Lucia Zouks’ double World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy believes his team has what it takes to defeat this year’s unbeaten Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders in tomorrow’s Hero Caribbean Premier League Final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy Stadium.

Today, Sammy likened the teams to the two biblical characters.

“I see them as Goliath,” said Sammy, while addressing the media during a pre-final press conference.

“They are the Goliath of the tournament, but like I said to my men, don’t forget that David defeated Goliath.

“That’s the confidence we have as a team. Everybody knows that from the time the tournament started we said whoever wins this tournament has to go through TKR. That was a given. If you want to win this tournament you have got to beat TKR, and that is what is left to do to win this cup.”

Sammy, who led the West Indies to two ICCT20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016, said the Zouks were confident and united in their vision regarding what is to unfold on Thursday morning.

“They (TKR) have played some exciting, dominant brand of cricket but we have that silent confidence in our team that we play as a unit,” he said.

“. . . I think [it] is a very good matchup for tomorrow, and hopefully in this COVID time, we will bring out the entertainment that will ease the stress of the Caribbean people,” Sammy added.

The Zouks got to the final with a commanding win over five-time finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors. The Zouks bowled out the Warriors for just 55, the second-lowest score in CPL history and then achieved their target without losing a wicket. Sammy led the team to six wins and four losses during the preliminary round. It marked the team’s most successful run in franchise history and first time in the final. Sammy said that reaching the semifinal did not satisfy his team

“I told the guys we didn’t come here to celebrate a semifinal.  Nobody gave us a chance.  From the start, I’ve said we have some effective guys. We don’t have guys in the top five in the runs but we play as a team, especially when we are out there in the field,” Sammy said.

Pollard is confident his team will not be under pressure to maintain their unbeaten record this season when they face the first-time finalists.

The Knight Riders crushed the inconsistent Jamaica Tallawahs by nine wickets in Tuesday’s semi-final match to claim a spot in the final and a shot at their fourth Hero CPL title.

Asked whether winning 11 of 11 matches brought pressure or confidence to his team, the TKR captain was unequivocal.

“Confidence. There is always pressure. Before you play the first game there is pressure, throughout the tournament there is pressure as well,” he said.

“At the end of it, I’ve played in finals and it’s just another game because you have nothing to lose. Four other teams would have liked to be in the position both teams are in…so it’s to go out and play good consistent cricket and at the end of the day the result will speak for itself.”

Pollard said he believes his team hold an advantage over St Lucia Zouks in that his players have been there in a final before.

“One good thing is that we have guys who would have played in finals before, so we would be able to settle nerves over the ones who these things are new to,” he said.

He credited a change of attitude for the success the team has had so far this season, making adjustments from lessons learned last season when they were eliminated by eventual champions Barbados Tridents.

“We look forward to it, (the final). Last year we were pretty disappointed to lose in the semi-finals and we made some changes and decided to come with a different sort of mentality this year and it has shown on the cricket field. So, it’s just a matter to jump the last hurdle and hopefully be four-time champions.”

The Knight Riders will be fielding a star-studded line-up that includes the captain, Sunil Narine, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Colin Munro and Sikandar Raza. Sammy will be hoping for top performances from the likes of Roston Chase, Mohammad Nabi, Rahkeem Cornwall, Scott Kuggeleijn and Zahir Khan.

Game time is 10 a.m. (SportsMax/WG)