Darren Sammy is backing his bowlers to shine, as the St Lucia Zouks get their 2015 Caribbean Premier League campaign underway against Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in Beausejour on Sunday.
The Zouks have failed to progress from the group stage in either of the first two editions of the tournament but Sammy believes that his bowlers will prove to be the difference this season.
He told cplt20.com: “To me St Lucia has the quickest wicket now in the Caribbean so it’s great to call on a battery of fast bowlers like Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Delorn Johnson.
"I'm telling you: Eddie Leie will win us games and be the Zouks' X-factor" - Darren Sammy
"Then in the spin department there’s Shane Shillingford, Liam Sebastian and Eddie Leie, who I’m telling you now will win a few games for us and be the Zouks X-factor.
"It’s exciting to start at home. Zouk Nation has always supported us and they’ve been disappointed the first two seasons. But we know if we start well at home, win those first four games then we will be up near the top of the pile."
On paper there is little doubt that this is the strongest Zouks squad to have entered the Biggest Party in Sport, with the bowling attack set to be supported by an array of international quality batsmen including Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor.
It is a squad that has been born from a change of approach from Sammy and he is hopeful it will help reverse the fortunes of the franchise, who have only won two matches in each of their first two season’s in the tournament.
“Although it’s been the CPL in the first two seasons our selection policy has maybe been a bit biased towards the Windward Islands players but this year we have added a couple of Bajans and a Trinidadian,” explained Sammy.
"We have to make sure we peak at the right time" - Red Steel skipper Dwayne Bravo
“You add that to the international stars we have and our squad is really sought after, we definitely have some of the best players.”
The Zouks opponents on Sunday will be the Red Steel, who also have plenty of international experience to call upon, with Jacques Kallis set to make his tournament debut while the team will be led by local island hero Dwayne Bravo.
Like Sammy, the Red Steel skipper has stressed the importance of the opening games as the franchise begin their quest to reach the final on their home island on July 26.
He said: “In the first season we started off very slowly but were still able to make it to the semi-finals. But in the second we started off very well and lost our way at the end. So I think this year we need to peak at the right time, try not to peak too early, try not to peak too late, take it one game at a time.
“When it comes to the crunch time, the team that handles the pressure better can go on to win the game. So for us that is going to be our biggest challenge, to make sure that we peak at the right time.”
