Ahead of the eighth edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), former Australia pacer Brett Lee expects Chris Lynn and Shai Hope to dominate the run-scoring charts.
The 2020 edition of the CPL, which is the first domestic T20 tournament to return following the virus-enforced lockdown, kicks off on August 18 and will run until September 10. The six-team tournament will see a total of 33 matches being played at two venues – Brian Lara Stadium (Tarouba) and Queen’s Park Oval (Port of Spain).
Speaking right ahead of the tournament opener, Lee said, “For the leading run-scorers, I’m going to go with either Chris Lynn (St Kitts and Nevis Patriots) or Shai Hope (Barbados Tridents). These batsmen have a great chance, but I think Hope will feel less pressure in this format of the game.”
Lynn looking for more of the same
Lynn, who missed the 2019 edition of the tournament, has scored 742 runs in three years at an average of 27.5. The figure might not provide any sort of confidence, but coming off a blistering unbeaten 115 off just 55 deliveries while playing for Lahore Qalandars in this year’s Pakistan Super League, a lot will be expected of him.
Chris Lynn most dangerous and Entertaining Cricketer . Just 1 Day To Go for @lynny50 batting in CPL. Some sixes of chris Lynn in CPL enjoy this and waiting to see more in this year . pic.twitter.com/hYAVjkdVL0
— Ayush Ranjan (@AyushRa49378158) August 18, 2020
The Australian, in fact, was the second-highest run-scorer in PSL behind Babar Azam, accumulating 284 runs in eight matches at an average of 40.25. At Patriots, the hard-hitting batsman will be reunited with his Lahore Qalandars and Australian teammate Ben Dunk.
Hope for Shai
Barbados Tridents’ Shai Hope missed a major chunk of last season’s CPL season owing to a finger injury he picked up during the Test series against India in August 2019. He was limited to just three appearances last season, and he managed to score 52 at an average of 17.3.
In a total of 17 matches played in the CPL across three seasons, the 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has scored 379 runs at 23.7, including a solitary half-century. Scoring-wise, his best performance came in the 2018 edition where he smashed 288 runs at an impressive average of 32.0 and strike-rate of 137.1.
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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Jewel Samad
