Barbados Royals v Antigua & Barbuda Falcons CPL Tips: King back with a bang

Thursday 12 September 00:00
TV: live on TNT Sports

Barbados Royals v Antigua & Barbuda Falcons team news

Royals have won two from two, beating Patriots and Falcons. The jury is still out whether they are the real deal but the suspicion is that Maheesh Theekshana and Naveen-ul-Haq have added much-needed nous to their bowling group. Quinton de Kock sets the tone with the bat.

Possible XI: Cornwall, De Kock, Alleyne, Brooks, Powell, Wellalage, Holder, Nyeem, Theekshana, Naveen-ul-Haq, McCoy

Brandon King is back in a major boost for falcons. But they have lost Fakhar Zaman to Pakistan duty. Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir remain, though. Imad and Fabian Allen could bat anywhere from Nos 4 to 8.

Probable XI: King, Greaves, James, Billings, Andrew, Shamar, Green, Imad, Allen, Primus, Amir

Barbados Royals v Antigua & Barbuda Falcons pitch report

There is a whopping toss bias for the defender at Bridgetown. This held in the t20 World Cup. Four from seven targets were defended and Oman took Namibia to a tie with 109 on the board.

In terms of first-innings runs, the surfaces are good for batting. There looked nowt wrong with the wicket when England and West Indies chased in double-quick time against the Yanks in the World Cup. Previously the Aussies posted 201 against England and India 181 against Afghanistan.

In CPL five of the last 11 have busted 170.5 in first-innings. We may be able to get long at around that sort of number from the early show on the 20-over par line.

Barbados Royals v Antigua & Barbuda Falcons match prediction

it would be folly to ignore the bias for the team batting first at this venue. So for that reason Royals have to be swerved at 1.728/11.

Antigua have picked up and are fighting hard. If they win two from their final four they have a great chance of qualifying. Batting first here will be imperative and they can flip the odds for a trade if they do so.

Barbados Royals v Antigua & Barbuda Falcons player bets

Brandon King has a 40% win rate in the last two years in CPL so we're happy to play him for top Falcons bat at 13/53.60. We also stick with Jason Holder at a value-busting 7/24.50 for top bowler because he wins at more than 30%. A cheeky option for top Royals bat, by the way, is Nyeem Young at 30/131.00. He has a decent record on the market and may get a chance further up the order at some point.

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