The story is told of a local news station interviewing an 80-year-old lady because she had just gotten married – for the fourth time.

The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband’s occupation.

“He’s a funeral director,” she answered.

“Interesting,” the newsman thought. He then asked her if she wouldn’t mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they did for a living.

She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all those years. After a short time, a smile came to her face, and she answered proudly, explaining that she’d first married a banker when she was in her early 20s, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40s, later on, a preacher when in her 60s, and now in her 80s, a funeral director.

The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers.

She smiled and explained, “I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.”

The foregoing is a little anecdote to get us going as the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) gets underway today.

This event will be the first T20 league to be played since the COVID-19 pandemic rendered all sports activities lockdown globally.

The 23-day tournament, though crowd less, will garner excitement from viewers from all over the world.

Players will also be vying to steal the spotlight to boost their value on the international league market.

The schedule is set, and viewers will be glued to their favorite broadcast outlet while cheering on their beloved franchise in the 33-match tournament, set to run from August 18 to September 10.

Trinidad and Tobago is the host country, and ten matches will be played at Queens Park Oval in Port-of-Spain while the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba will stage 23 games.

According to some pundits, the grounds are a spinners paradise. Therefore, the following bowlers should have a feast day:

Rashid Khan

Imran Tahir

Sandeep Lamichhane

Zahir Khan

That said, pacers such as Jason Holder, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Keon Harding, among others, must prove their net worth if they want to be reckoned among the greats.

At the same time, the batters will have the most to prove as the matches will be sure to show up the pretenders, especially against spin.

The batting prowess of Chris “Universe Boss” Gayle will undoubtedly be missed, but it also provides an excellent opportunity for someone to take the “Universe” title.

Gayle is the top scorer in CPL, with 2354 runs at an average of 39.23 and a strike rate of 133.44, including four centuries.

Notwithstanding, there are some young guns, among others that fans will be chomping at the bit to see:

Jayden Seales

Nayeem Young

Joshua Da Silva

Keon Harding

Tion Webster

Kevin Sinclair

On the other hand, some of the local big guns that could make a difference in the tournament include:

Shimron Hetmyer

Brandon King

Nicholas Pooran

Sunil Narine

Andre Russell

The eighth edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) should take one’s mind from the sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. Enjoy the games!

Yvad Billings, Readers Bureau, Contributor

Edited by Jesus Chan

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