Antigua & Barbuda Falcons vs Guyana Amazon Warriors: Preview & Prediction | 2024 Caribbean Premier League | League Stage
DATE & TIME: Friday August 30th 2024 – USA PT – 4:00pm / USA ET – 7:00pm / Saturday August 31st 2024 – UK – 12:00am
VENUE: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
WEATHER: Very warm and dry with clear skies and temperatures at just under 30c.
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA FALCONS FORM: DESPITE AGONISING DEFEAT, A PLATFORM TO BUILD UPON
To lose by just one wicket in their first CPL game in franchise history will have been a bitter pill to swallow for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, but their squad have every reason to be positive about the way they competed. With match sharpness in their favour, they’ll see themselves as well-placed to put that behind them here.
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS FORM: REIGNING CHAMPIONS HIT BY AYUB NOC DENIAL
Guyana Amazon Warriors are aiming to go back-to-back in the Caribbean Premier League after winning it all in 2023. However, they’ll have to cope without one of their star batters from last year. Saim Ayub racked up 478 runs across 13 matches, the second highest number of runs scored by any player in the tournament. But after being denied an NOC by the Pakistan Cricket Board, he will not be available for Guyana in 2024.
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA FALCONS BETTING ANALYSIS
Fakhar Zaman’s notorious power-hitting was always likely to be important for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons at the top of their order and the Pakistan international delivered on the opening night with a fast 43. That knock including two sixes, again emphasising the ability of Fakhar to clear the boundary rope. It would be no surprise if he was to do the same again vs Guyana, so utilise the ‘Batter Total Match Sixes’ market to back opener Fakhar to strike over 0.5 match sixes for a second consecutive game.
GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS BETTING ANALYSIS
Whilst Guyana Amazon Warriors may not have Saim Ayub, they can call upon the 2023 Caribbean Premier League’s top run-scorer for their 2024 campaign. West Indies star Shai Hope accumulated 481 runs in that tournament, including a top score of 106, underlining his obvious class. Hope will be key to any success that Guyana hope to have in their bid for consecutive titles and warrants backing to hit the ground running with over 23.5 match runs here.
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA FALCONS VS GUYANA AMAZON WARRIORS EXPERT PREDICTION
The worry from an Antigua & Barbuda point of view is their players nursing a hangover from such a tough loss less than 24 hours earlier. But this is a good squad with enough experience to put that behind them and come out of the traps flying this time round. They’ll no doubt want to catch Guyana Amazon Warriors cold.
Having already played on the ground and gotten a feel for the pitch, this works in the favour of the Falcons, meaning they don’t need to adapt like Guyana may have to. This makes backing them potentially the smart move in this one.