It has become a habit for ICBL Empire to appear in the Sagicor General Twenty20 final, while it will be the second time for their opponents, Sagicor UWI.
Arguably two of the leading teams in domestic cricket in any format, the sides are set to square off tonight at Kensington Oval in the fifth final of this competition.
The last time UWI reached this stage they lost to Empire in the 2010 edition. That outing against UWI has been the only successful campaign for Empire in their three previous finals. They will be keen to earn their second cup while UWI will be looking to grab the only domestic championship they are yet to win.
Of even more significance is the prospect of creating history by becoming the first team to win the top three titles in local cricket.
The best of teams could be excused for feeling some degree of pressure with so much at stake but UWI captain Kyle Corbin is not queasy about the big clash.
“We see every game as it comes. The final is just another game, a game that we want to win. We play every game to win,” Corbin told SUNSPORT following his team’s convincing semi-final win over Guardian General Barbados Youth Friday night.
“It is going to be a tough game because of the opposition. We have won two competitions. Everybody is looking to see if we can win this triple.
“We said at the beginning of the season that is what we want to do. We have the opportunity to do that.
“Hopefully, the guys will go out there and play good cricket and if we do that we should come out on top.”
Corbin respects Empire as one of the leading teams in local cricket. Given the fact that both teams are full of talented players this should be reflected in the type of cricket played in the final.
“I think we are two quality sides,” Corbin said. “I think it is going to be a good final. I am expecting an exciting game and the best team will win on that day.
“Empire is one of the best sides around and any time we play each other it’s going to be a big game, even if it is a practice match.”
Empire’s captain Jamal Smith said: “If you look at the stats, we have played UWI twice here [at Kensington Oval] and we have beaten them twice. We are playing T20 cricket and I think we have been a little more consistent than them.”
Apart from Empire’s triumph over UWI in the 2010 T20 final, the Bank Hall side defeated UWI in the final of the Sagicor 50-over Cup in 2008.
Smith, while admitting that Empire suffered two early losses in the preliminary rounds and one later in the tournament to UWI, still fancied his team’s chances against the men from Cave Hill.
“We went to the finals in this tournament four times in a row, so I won’t say that UWI is the main team,” he remarked. “I would say it is pretty even stevens.”
