FLORIDA, CMC- T20 superstar Chris Gayle says he hopes the historic Florida leg of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) scheduled to start tomorrow will help to raise the profile of the tournament.
Six matches are carded for the Central Broward Stadium including back-to-back clashes between Gayle’s high-flying Jamaica Tallawahs and the in-form St.Lucia Zouks on Saturday and Sunday.
“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,” said Gayle, who captains the Tallawahs.
“If it can actually progress, I know that this leg (of matches) will be a good one for CPL. And if it can continue next year and keep letting the people in the US get a chance to see it live, then it should be a fantastic thing for the game of cricket in the US as well.”
The prolific left-hander has continued his fine run of form in the competition and is currently ranked third in the Hero CPL’s leading run-getters with 260 runs from eight games to date at a strike rate of 159.5 and an average of 52.
“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),” said Gayle, who is still undergoing treatment on a back injury.
“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’s comments come on the eve of the landmark ties in Central Broward Stadium, which starts tomorrow night when Guyana Amazon Warriors face a crunch clash with Barbados Tridents.
Tridents need two wins to have any hope of reaching the Hero CPL Finals.
The 36-year-old flamboyant opener said he was pleased with his side’s form which has propelled them to the top of the league table.
“Hopefully we can maintain the momentum which we left in Jamaica and came here to play against the Zouks on Saturday and Sunday,” said Gayle, whose strong batting form and his 23 sixes to date, have reasserted his reputation as one of the game’s most devastating batsmen.
“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.”
However he is aware of the threat now posed by the Zouks, who have recovered from a slow start to be number three in the rankings.
“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,” said Gayle.
“They (St. Lucia Zouks) are going to be dangerous coming off three wins. Momentum is always good in a T20 game.”