Darren Gough's CPL 2016 guide - a carnival of cricket

Unibet ambassador Darren Gough gives us his guide to the 2016 Caribbean Premier League - the biggest part in sport, or as he calls it, "a carnival of cricket".

The competition got underway last night with St Lucia Zouks opening up with a victory over Trinbago Knight Riders, who Gough nevertheless expects to go well in this year's competition.

He thinks the reigning champions and Guyana Amazon Warriors will be hard to beat.

"The conditions in the Caribbean can be hard work for the bowlers, especially the faster bowlers," he said.

"The pitches tend to be a little bit two-paced, a little bit slow and that's why spinners come into the game.

"Teams like Guyana and Trinbago, they tend to pack their sides with spinners and they'll play a big part in this year's CPL."

New for 2016 is the final leg of the group stage being played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ex-England, Essex and Yorkshire quick bowler Gough is a big supporter of the move to take the CPL to America.

"The CPL are taking cricket to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is a fantastic achievement," he said, full of praise for the idea.

"It's a game-changer for the game of cricket.

"You've had teams from all around the world trying to conquer America, and get cricket into America and the CPL have gone and managed it and they are taking every single team, all six of them over to play in America and I think it will be well supported - it is a game-changer."

The CPL is just one of many high profile T20 tournaments played around the world and although each has its own identity and character, Gough maintains that for him, the CPL ranks at the top.

"We all know by now that the CPL is a carnival of cricket.

"It's music, it's 4s, it's 6s, it's wickets flying everywhere, everybody having a party. That's why I love it.

"(Look at) other competitions, the IPL is different, that's the serious one, the money game and that's where everybody wants to play.

"You've got the Big Bash, a fantastic tournament, well organised and then you've got the NatWest T20 Blast, our own tournament in this country, but for me (it's) the CPL."

© Cricket World 2016