Tallawahs sweating over Russell’s availability
Published:Tuesday | September 17, 2019 | 12:16 AMLennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Tallawahs head coach Donovan Miller is keeping his fingers crossed that all-rounder André Russell will get a passing grade when he is assessed by the medical panel ahead of their crucial home Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors tomorrow at Sabina Park.
Russell is set to undergo a sports concussion assessment tool (SCAT) test to monitor if his condition has deteriorated or improved since he was stretched off after taking a hit against the St Lucia Zouks last Thursday.
Russell was hit on the head by a sharply rising delivery from St Lucia Zouks pacer Hardus Viljoen and put on a six-day monitoring process after a CT scan came back negative.
RUSSELL IN GOOD SPIRITS
The right-hander looked in good spirits yesterday as he took part in full practice and looks sharp according to Miller.
“Russell is ready to play. He looks to be in good condition, having worked out today; however, it is strictly up to the medical panel to decide if he can go. Hopefully, we get a positive result,” said Miller.
The injury-ravaged Tallawahs would welcome back the hard-hitting all-rounder, having lost stand-in captain Rovman Powell, who will miss the remainder of the CPL on account of an abdominal injury.
The Tallawahs will also be monitoring the condition of seam bowling all-rounder Shamar Springer, who missed the Tallawahs’ last two encounters against the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Barbados Tridents because of a laceration on the knee.
Despite the injury concerns, Miller believes that the squad is in good stead, having acquired former England seamer Jade Dernbach.
“Jade (Dernbach) has come right in and showed his true class as a professional. We believe we have a good mixture of youth and experience in the squad that can help us to get more wins Right now, it’s all about execution and the guys surely did that against the Tridents, and we are hoping for more of those kinds of performances come Wednesday,” said Miller.
The Tallawahs will face the Guyana Amazon Warriors at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Sabina Park.