Kevin O’Brien is back for the
Limacol Caribbean Premier League 2014 and he is coming with high expectations.
After helping the Red Steel to reach the semi-finals in the inaugural season in 2013, he is aiming to go all the way this
year.
The 2014 edition of the Caribbean Premier League will
be back in just under six weeks when the Caribbean
will once again light up for this thrilling party atmosphere across 30 exciting
matches.
“I am very excited to be back in the Caribbean
and happy that the Red Steel re-signed me,” the Dublin-born cricketer said, “As
well as looking forward to linking up with the Red Steel team again, I’m also
looking forward to meeting the new players.”
The CPL will add two new locations to this season’s
event with the Spice Isle, Grenada hosting the opening games and St. Kitts and Nevis
the closing round. Kevin (who also runs his own cricket academy based in Dublin) says; “CPL is going from strength to strength and
the addition of new venues will definitely add to the brand image, so I am
really excited to be a part of it, and I’m especially looking forward to the
opening set of games in Grenada.”
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| Kevin O’Brien |
Other changes this year include each team playing two
more league games which the 2013 Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year
thinks is great news; “It gives us (Red Steel) an opportunity to gel more and
develop our team chemistry. I am familiar with some of the new players in the
squad, like Jamshed who I faced when we (Ireland)
played Pakistan and also
Kennar Lewis of Jamaica
who I came across in the Nagico Super50 a few months ago.”
On this year’s competition, O’Brien (who scored the
fastest century in Cricket World Cup history) says; “The Tallawahs and Amazon
Warriors remain the favourites but each team in this season’s CPL has at least
two to three match winners, so it is going to be interesting. Gayle, Russell,
Narine, Santokie – these are just a few of the players who can make a huge
impact this season, they’re all quality cricketers.”
Having always had a desire to play cricket
professionally, playing in the 2004 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh was
a “great learning curve”, helping him to develop the fundamentals of the game.
During that tournament, he helped the Ireland U-19 team by scoring 241 runs
seeing Ireland through to
the Plate Semi-Finals before being defeated by Australia. “That tournament was
great exposure for me and it gave me good momentum to improve in the game.”
Growing up learning about cricket, the 30 year-old
hard–hitting, all-rounder looked to Shaun Pollock of South
Africa and Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff of England.
He explains; “Shaun Pollock and Freddie Flintoff were players I always admired,
they played with composure and skill and I have always wanted to emulate those
qualities.”
Kevin has played in two Cricket World Cups and three
World T20 Championships for Ireland
so undoubtedly he carries a wealth of experience, knowledge and technical
ability. “The 2007 Cricket World Cup for me holds special memories of course.
It was fantastic, especially when we were in Jamaica and we qualified for the
Super 8’s.” Kevin O’Brien also bowled a maiden wicket over in the penultimate
over of the game against Zimbabwe
showing nerves of steel. Laughing about the moment, he said; “Trent Johnston
had a word with me and I just remained focused and executed my best effort”.
Kevin O’Brien will come to the Caribbean
in early July to meet up with the team and begin preparation for CPL 2014. “I
am with Surrey now in England,
but on July 5th, I will head out to the Caribbean
and join up with Red Steel. I can’t wait.”
So it’s all eyes on the Irishman this year as the tournament
gets underway in mid-July.
ENDS
About the Caribbean Premier League:
Caribbean Premier League is a franchise-based T20 format cricket
tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival
atmosphere. The inaugural CPL, billed as “the Biggest Party in Sport”,
featured six teams competing throughout the region in August 2013 – Jamaica
Tallawahs, The Red Steel, Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Lucia
Zouks, Antigua Hawksbills. The Jamaica Tallawahs, captained by Chris
Gayle, emerged as champions.
The CPL launched last year to sell-out crowds, with
over 250,000 spectators attending matches across Antigua,
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica,
Trinidad and St Lucia,
whilst a global TV audience of 36 million were entertained by the skills of
international stars including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Ricky Ponting and
Muttiah Muralitharan.
CPL II will take
place from 11th July to 16th August of 2014. Visit http://cplt20.com for more info.
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