Bigger, better Tallawahs - Richardson
Published:Friday | August 3, 2018 | 12:00 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Andrew Richardson, team manager of the Jamaica Tallawahs, said the team is in high spirits and looking forward to the start of the Caribbean Premier League competition, which begins on August 8.
Richardson told The Gleaner that they have assembled a very powerful team for this year's championships and he is very confident that they will do much better than last year. The Tallawahs were knocked out at the quarter-finals stage last season.
"The expectations are always high because we had our first day of camp (on Wednesday) and the guys are looking good, and they are in high spirits and everybody is ready to go," said Richardson.
"Hopefully, we can execute on the day because people always say we have a strong team on paper, but cricket is played on the day and so it is all about execution," he said.
Powerful line-up
"Our batting line-up have a lot more power at the top, and hopefully those guys make use of the power play and give us a good start, and then our finishers can come at the end and complete the job," said Richardson.
The Tallawahs, who last won the competition in 2016, will welcome the return of all-rounder Andre Russell to their line-up. Russell missed last year's competition because of a doping-test rule breach.
They have also added the likes of West Indies T20 opener Johnson Charles, South Africa's David Miller, Ross Taylor from New Zealand and Imad Wasim from Pakistan. The team also includes Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach and Kennar Lewis. Richardson added that with the addition of these overseas players, the Tallawahs are a much more balanced unit compared to last year's team.
"The goal is always to win and the confidence and belief is there within our players," said Richardson.
"We continue every day to instill and enforce the mental side that we want to win and we take it day by day, and the ultimate is to come out with the trophy, and that is always at the forefront and so we are just focusing on the process at the moment," he said.