CPL Preview - Barbados Royals
Formally known as Barbados Tridents, they recently became the third CPL team to partner with an IPL franchise. After Rajasthan Royals bought a majority stake in the CPL side. The news should be a positive for Barbados as Rajasthan are an IPL franchise that are thought of as being smart and thorough when it comes to recruitment.
Jason Holder will once again captain the side and Daniel Vettori was recently announced as coach for the season. Vetorri has had mixed success in his coaching career so far, though he did recently take charge of Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, leading them to a runners up finish.
After winning the CPL in 2019, Barbados had a disappointing tournament last year, finishing 5th in the group stages, winning only three of their ten matches. They just weren’t a very good side last season and didn’t really excel in any area’s:
They were fairly average with bat and ball, without being awful but it was the mediocrity in all departments which prevented them from getting a place in the top four. One area in which they were particularly poor was batting against spin, only managing to score at 5.22 rpo and also having one of the worst dismissal rates against spin.
Even though the official take over was only confirmed a few weeks ago, evidence that this was happening may have been building over the last few months. Chris Morris was drafted by both Rajasthan and Barbados this year, though he has pulled out of his CPL deal for personal reasons. Kyle Mayers, who is part of the Barbados squad, was also being lined up by Rajasthan earlier in the year in a replacement deal for Ben Stokes. While Glenn Phillips was announced as a Barbados signing and then a few days later was confirmed as replacement for Jos Buttler in the IPL when that resumes. It could be a coincidence but I doubt these things happen overnight, so I think Barbados may have been benefitting from smarter recruitment strategies for a while.
Barbados have largely kept a similar local core and a lot of the changes have been amongst the overseas contingent:
Out: Corey Anderson, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Keon Harding, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Santner & Shayan Jahangir.
In: Glenn Phillips, Azam Khan, Thisara Perera, Jake Lintott, Mohammad Amir, Oshane Thomas & Smit Patel.
I’ve been impressed with some of the business from Barbados, as they look to have built a solid group of overseas players. Typically a side that has lacked specialist batters in the past, getting Glenn Phillips is a big coup and I’m sure there would’ve been other CPL franchises interested in signing him. Azam Khan is an exciting prospect and is one of the fastest scoring players against spin, if he gets a run in the side he can be a high upside player. Thisara Perera and Amir have both been around for a long time, their strengths and weaknesses are fairly well known.
Jake Lintott getting a first overseas franchise deal is a great story and caps off a stellar 12 months, after impressing in two blast campaigns and the Hundred. He could miss the first couple of games though, as he’ll play for the Birmingham Bears in their blast quarter final on August 27th.
Emerging players: Nyeem Young & Joshua Bishop.
Nyeem Young is a right arm pace bowler who made his CPL debut last year and also played for Delhi Bulls in the t10 tournament earlier this year. He went wicketless in the five CPL games he played, though he did only bowl 45 deliveries. In his brief t20/t10 career so far, he is someone who tends to be used more towards the backend of an innings with the ball. He is also thought of as a decent lower order hitter and would probably bat at 8 or 9 if he can break into the team.
In terms of his chances of playing, I think he has a good chance of getting game reasonable game time this season. As Jason Holder and Hayden Walsh are probably the only bowlers guaranteed to play in the XI every game, there will be chances for Nyeem as Barbados juggle the combinations of their bowling attack.
Joshua Bishop is a slow left arm bowler that has made three CPL appearances across the 2019 & 20 seasons, taking four wickets in 11 overs. He has a decent list A record to his name, taking 32 wickets in 22 matches at an economy of just over 4. His chances of playing might be boosted this year as he is the only SLA bowler in the squad, where as in past seasons they’ve had Shakib and Mitchell Santner. Although I still expect him to be lower down in the pecking order behind Hayden Walsh, Lintott and Ashley Nurse, there may be opportunities for him later in the tournament.
With Lintott unavailable initially, I think a possible XI could look something like this:
The first selection debate is where should Glenn Phillips bat? In his successful CPL career so far, he has batted exclusively as an opener but he has also done well batting at number four in other tournaments and for New Zealand. Given the struggles of Shai Hope last season as an opener, I’m expecting Phillips to partner Johnson Charles at the top of the order.
Kyle Mayers doesn’t have great t20 numbers, despite that he’ll still be in the XI and is clearly highly rated by the Royals franchises, based on the fact he was being lined up as a replacement for Ben Stokes in the IPL. While Azam Khan and Thisara Perera will definitely be in the XI initially, in the absence of Lintott.
As for the bowlers; Holder, Amir and Hayden Walsh JR will all be in the team, leaving Ashley Nurse, Raymon Reifer, Oshane Thomas, Nyeem Young and Joshua Bishop to compete for the last two bowling slots. If you looked at past tournaments Ashley Nurse and Raymon Reifer have both been regulars for Barbados over the last few seasons, however I think it’ll be Nurse and Oshane Thomas that get the nod initially. Oshane was recruited from the Tallwahs and Barbados will be hoping he can return to something near his best, after a tough couple of years.
Strengths:
Overseas contingent - They look to have built one of the strongest group of overseas players in the tournament and I believe all five could have a positive impact on the side, which is something you can’t say for other franchises.
Batting depth - They’ve always had bowlers that can contribute with the bat but this year they’ve combined that with actually having batters in the top 6 that can perform specific roles, rather than shoving Holder in the top 5.
Wrist spin options - When Lintott arrives, having two good wrist spinners with a different bowling style is a nice asset to have.
Weaknesses:
Death overs bowling - Considering the form of Amir in this phase, death overs bowling is a huge concern for me. Oshane Thomas, Raymon Reifer and Thisara Perera all go at over 10 rpo in this phase and Jason Holder isn’t that much better at 9.5, looks to be a real problem area for Barbados.
Local batting options - Their domestic batting options leave a lot to be desired. Fortunately they’ve salvaged their batting line up with the overseas signings of Phillips, Azam Khan and Thisara, all of whom look to have plugged gaps in their side.
Player Notes
Glenn Phillips - Top run scorer in the CPL over the last three seasons, Barbados were in desperate need of a specialist batter and they certainly got one. Phillips has a strong all round game and doesn’t really have an obvious weakness, if I had one criticism of him it would be that he doesn’t necessarily take enough risks against the ball turning into him, particularly against off spin. A match up which would be considered fairly easy for a RHB, Phillips only strikes at 116 against off spin, though he does average over 60, he needs to be more aggressive against off spin. Has good gears and accelerates through phases well, I’d keep him at the top of the order.
Johnson Charles - I expect Charles to be the opening partner for Phillips, despite a brief stint in the middle order for Multan Sultans in the PSL earlier this year. Hasn’t had the best time of it in the CPL over the last couple of seasons, striking at just under 120, though in his defence a lot of pressure has been on him, with the lack of specialist batters in the Barbados line up in previous years. Strong boundary percentage but really struggles against leg spin, getting dismissed 14 times in 138 balls since the start of 2018.
Shai Hope - I don’t really know what to make of Hope in t20’s, had a strong year in 2018 but since then hasn’t played many matches and in the games he has played he has struck at under 100. Based on his ODI strike rate of under 80, even if he does have a decent tournament he seems like a player with a fairly low ceiling. I still expect him to play though and he has decent numbers in the few times he has batted at three.
Kyle Mayers - One reason why the Royals franchises might be so keen on him despite average t20 numbers is because of his six hitting ability. Mayers hit 14 sixes in the CPL last season, a tally which could only be beaten by six players. If he can work on other area’s of his game, there could be a good t20 player in there. Playing spin looks to be an area that requires big improvement, striking at under 80 against spin since 2018, though it’s a small-ish sample size and most of those would have been last season. Even still he was the slowest scoring player against spin in the CPL last year of the players to face at least 100 balls by some distance.
Azam Khan - His strengths against spin are well known, striking at over 170 with a good average. His general balls per dismissal rate is very low for a specialist batter, getting dismissed every 14 balls roughly, which is similar to Holder’s, who many would class as a bowling all rounder in the shortest format. He is still at the beginning of his career but that’s an area of his game he needs to work on if he’s going to light up t20 cricket.
Thisara Perera - Destructive towards the back end of an innings with the bat and has very strong boundary hitting metrics. Strikes at over 160 in the 12–16 over phase and over 200 in the death overs. As a result, it isn’t a surprise that he’s one of the fastest scoring players against non-spin, striking in the mid 180’s, which is only bettered by Russell in t20’s (t20i’s not included). His bowling is expensive and it’s a worry that he could be needed for overs, as it looks like him and Nurse on fifth bowler duties.
Jason Holder - I expect his returns with the bat to better this year, as he won’t be required to bat as high in the order, a role which doesn’t suit him in my opinion. In the most recent seasons he has batted as high as 3 for Barbados and has often batted at 4 & 5, this season I think he’ll mostly bat at 6 & 7, which is a much better position for him to bat. With the ball he bowls a high % of his overs in the powerplay and although he doesn’t bowl at the death too often, he boasts a strong strike rate in that phase. I expect him to be used in a 2–1–1 role.
Ashley Nurse - Probably won’t be a lock in the XI like he has been in past seasons but I still expect him to start in the side for the first few games. Has an unusually poor record against LHB’s for an off spinner, going at over 8 rpo. Does provide some nice batting depth lower down the order and like Holder will be in a more suitable position this season.
Mohammad Amir - Needs to bounce back after a really poor tournament in the Hundred. His 2021 in general has been pretty dreadful, taking only 8 wickets in over 50 overs and going at 8.83 rpo, which more than one rpo more expensive than he has ever been in a calendar year before. His death overs economy rate in particular has gone through the roof and is 10.55 in 2021 and 9.8 since the start of 2020.
Hayden Walsh JR - After a breakthrough tournament in CPL 2019, where he took 22 wickets in nine games, 2020 was a struggle for him. If you just looked at his figures from last season they don’t look too bad, seven wickets in 23 overs at economy of 7.75 doesn’t seem disastrous but considering the conditions for spin bowlers last year it was a poor showing. Walsh JR was the 2nd most expensive of all spinners that bowled at least 100 balls in the tournament last season. Seemingly he is back in some decent form and impressed in t20’s recently against Australia and Pakistan for West Indies.
Oshane Thomas - His 2019 and 2020 CPL’s were, to put it mildly, a disaster. Going at well over 11 runs per over and in general just lacking control with the ball. A change of franchise could be what he needs to get his career back on track. Even at his best, he was never the most economical bowler but he carried a big wicket taking threat, which is probably why Barbados opted for him, bowlers that carry wicket taking threat in all phases is a hugely desirable trait.
Jake Lintott - 36 wickets at an economy of under 7 and strike rate of 16 in two blast campaigns and the hundred in the last 12 months or so. An incredible rise for Lintott. There were doubts over whether he could have a strong impact in the hundred but he delivered in that as well, taking 11 wickets in nine matches. Strong against RHB’s, owing to a high percentage of googlies that he bowls.
Raymon Reifer - Might not see as much game time this season. Still expect him to play at some point, particularly if Amir continues the trajectory he has been on this year and Barbados still want that left arm angle.
Justin Greaves - May get a chance to play if Shai Hope disappoints, other than that I don’t think he’ll get an opportunity.
Overall I really like the squad Barbados have built. They’ve covered a couple of gaping holes in their squad with the overseas signings they’ve made, which has really boosted where I’d rank them heading into this season. As such, I think they’ll make the top four this season and could even push for a top two spot.
Thanks for reading!
Stats: cricmetric
