They have attended a Hero Caribbean Premier League wedding four times before but as bridesmaids. However, on Saturday, the Guyana Amazon Warriors will be hoping they are the ones throwing the bouquet when they battle the Barbados Tridents in the grand finale at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando, from 5 pm.
Last year they turned up at the same venue and saw their ambitions crushed by a rampant Trinbago Knight Riders.
TKR are not in the affair this time so manager Omar Khan’s team will be looking to call the tune when the umpires start play.
Warriors will be hoping a fifth time will be lucky and if it is, they will become the first team in the history of the tournament to play unbeaten and lift the trophy.
The Warriors will be hoping that the local fans give them the support to go all the way as well.
Nevertheless, skipper Shoaib Malik is confident of victory.
“We have played really good cricket to reach this far and we intend to finish the job. The boys have kept focussed despite the couple days rest and they are looking forward to playing on the main stage. We have a lot of experience on our team and my job is to keep them calm on this big occasion,” Malik said on the eve of the match.
Malik, who played for the Tridents a couple of years ago, admitted he thinks they are going to be tough in the final.
“You look at their team and they are packed with quality players who can win matches. They have fought hard along the way and they have shown that they can topple big teams. We are mindful of them and we are going into the battle knowing that once we stick to our plan and execute we will get to where we want to be.”
The Tridents, who took their first title back in 2014, ironically against the Warriors, will also be looking for another lien on the trophy.
Captain Jason Holder, who lost his West Indies T20 captaincy just as the competition started in September, is also eager to achieve success and prove a point.
“The beauty of our performances so far in this tournament is we've held on in close games. We also lost some close games but the majority of our games we held our nerve and we came out on top. We've scrapped for a lot of wins. It's not ideal but I think it shows the character of the side. This is good for us going into any finals, knowing that your team can fight back from difficult situations,” Holder said after the Tridents dethroned the TKR with a 12-run win in the semifinal on Thursday night at the same venue.
Holder said it was the closeness of his team, which they worked on as the season progressed, which had brought them this far.
“The difference for us in getting this far in the tournament is sticking together. We had a few team activities, team dinners and we've been building a nice family. Hopefully, the guys can continue that, rest up, recover and come back for the final on Saturday."
Rain is not in the forecast Saturday so the action should not be affected. The pitch for this game is also expected to be similar to the one used on Thursday night. This means it will not be easy for batting and players will have to graft for their runs.
A huge crowd is expected for the game as tickets were going fast during the week in the hope the TKR would have been in the final. Some disgruntled fans were trying to sell their tickets on social media on Friday.
Before the title match on Saturday, there will be a T10 game in the women’s series featuring the NLCB Revellers and the Courts Gladiators from 12.30 pm. The NLCB Revellers won the first match by eight wickets on Thursday.
CPL FINAL RESULTS OVER THE YEARS
2013 – Jamaica Tallawahs bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wkts
2014 – Barbados Tridents bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 8 runs.
2015 – T&T Red Steel bt Barbados Tridents by 20 runs.
2016 – Jamaica Tallawahs bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 9 wkts.
2017 - Trinbago Knight Riders bt St. Kitts Patriots by 3 wkts.
2018 – Trinbago Knight Riders bt Guyana Amazon Warriors by 7 wkts.
TEAMS
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Nicolas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Shimron Hetmyer, Ben Laughlin, Chris Green, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Keagan Simmons, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Veerasammy Permaul, Anthony Bramble, Clinton Pestano.
Tridents: Alex Hales, Jason Holder, Shakib Al Hasan, Harry Gurney, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Jonathan Carter, Chemar K Holder, Leniko Boucher, Roshon Primus, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Joshua Bishop, Hayden Walsh.