Caribbean Premier League to start next month in Trinidad

A 33-game Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 tournament will kick off next month with defending champion Barbados Tridents against St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors taking on the Trinbago Knight Riders. CPL chief executive Damien O'Donohoe said the Aug. 18-Sept. 10 tournament would be staged in two venues in Trinidad and Tobago, with the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba hosting 23 games, including the semifinals and final, and Queen's Park Oval at Port of Spain hosting 10 games.

The West Indies team contested the first international cricket since the lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic when it beat England in the first test at Southampton earlier this month. England won the second test and the series is poised with the third test in Manchester going to the final day.

The West Indies players, who had to go into two weeks of quarantine after arriving in Britain last month in preparation for the test series, will return to the Caribbean and have to adapt quickly to the T20 format.

Just like the test series in England, the six-team CPL will be played in empty stadiums and in a bio-secure environment with strict protocols in place to protect players and the public from the spread of Covid-19.

"We have seen the appetite for live sport since it has returned after a prolonged absence, and the interest in CPL will be higher than ever with it being the first franchise T20 tournament to return," O'Donohoe said.

Organizers worked with the government of Trinidad and Tobago to ensure the tournament could be staged this year.