There are many T20 Cricket Tournaments which take place throughout the year but the Caribbean Premier League is amongst the most popular and has a huge following around the world. It began in 2013 in its current form and replaced the outgoing Caribbean Twenty20.
Administered by Cricket West Indies, the tournament is competed in a league format ahead of end-of-season play-offs which consist of a semi-final and a final. There are six teams competing in total and it is usually played between July and August although these dates are subject to alteration.
The Trinbago Knight Riders are the most successful side in the tournament with three victories. Their first came in 2015. The Guyana Amazon Warriors have been runners-up on four different occasions.
There are a number of household names who have competed in the league with Chris Gayle arguably the most well-known. The Jamaican is the leading run-scorer in the Caribbean Premier League.
The majority of stadiums are located in the Caribbean although Guyana’s is located on the American mainland whilst another of the venues is in Fort Lauderdale.
The league is televised all around the world and has benefitted from Twenty20’s increase in popularity over the last decade.
2018 Prediction Report
2017 champions Trinbago Knight Riders have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years and they went into the season looking for a third title in four years. They were positioned at the top of the betting and were given a 28.57% implied probability ahead of the 2018 tournament. They were well-fancied to continue where they left off. Their talented squad included Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo and Brendon McCullum and they were dominant twelve months earlier.
The Jamaica Tallawahs were second in the betting and were given a 22.22% implied probability ahead of the 2018 tournament. Chris Gayle’s side won the inaugural staging of the Caribbean Premier League but had only managed one victory since.
2017 runners-up St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were also expected to go well this year and they were also given an implied probability of 22.22%.
Little chance was given to St Lucia Stars who had an implied probability of just 16.67% and they had never made it to the final two. The Barbados Tridents weren’t too far behind in the betting with an implied probability of just 15.38% The 2014 winners had finished as runners up in 2015 but had struggled since. They signed Steve Smith in July 2018 and that helped increase their chances significantly. The unpredictable Aussie would add some much needed sparkle to their side whilst his disgraced team-mate David Warner signed for St Lucia Stars just days later.
2018 Caribbean Premier League
In the sixth season of the Caribbean Premier League, it was reigning champions Trinbago Knight Riders who emerged triumphant yet again. They beat the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who had begun as outsiders for the tournament, by eight wickets in the final and were able to secure their third title in four years.
They finished top of the table with 14 points from their 10 matches, narrowly ahead of the Amazon Warriors. The Jamaican Tallawahs and St Kits and Nevis Patriots were the other two sides to make the play-offs.
The Barbados Tridents finished last with just four points.
