Injury-ravaged Tallawahs bring in reinforcements for Zouks clash

The Jamaica Tallawahs have brought in Bangladeshi batsman Liton Das and Guyanese opener Trevon Griffith for their must-win Caribbean Premier League (CPL) clash against the St Lucia Zouks in Gros Islet today.

The Jamaican franchise, who are at the foot of the CPL table with four points from eight matches and a net run rate of minus 1.27, have a slim chance of getting into the four-team play-offs – if they win their remaining two matches and other results go their way.

The Zouks are currently in the fourth play-off spot with five points from eight games and a net run rate of minus 0.865. The Tallawahs’ final preliminary-round game will be against the already-qualified Guyana Amazon Warriors, who lead the CPL standings with 14 points from seven games with a net run rate of 1.693.

Tallawahs head coach Donovan Miller told The Gleaner that his injury-ravaged team will be going all out and dubbed those contests two finals for the Jamaican franchise.

MUST-WIN SITUATION

“We are in a must-win situation, and we know what is required. It’s been a difficult CPL for us up to this point we haven’t been able to play a settled team due to injuries. Unfortunately, the injuries kept creeping into our camp, as we have lost Jade Dernbach to a groin injury, but we have replaced him with a very good player in Liton Das of Bangladesh, who we believe can bring some much-needed stability to our batting unit. We had one of the most intense training sessions on Wednesday, and I believe we are ready for the challenges ahead,” said Miller.

Miller believes that the batting department, especially in the middle, needed some adjusting.

“Chris (Gayle), Glen (Phillips), and Chadwick (Walton) have been fairly decent for us in terms of runs at the top, but having lost Rovman (Powell) and André (Russell) to injury, our middle order has struggled, and so having these new players come in, I am hoping that we can get the type of performance needed to win us these two remaining games,” added Miller.

The Tallawahs will also be sweating over the fitness of Barbadian seamer Shamar Springer, who seemed to have reaggravated the knee injury that he had picked up earlier in the season.

“We have really fought back in the last couple of games and showed true spirit and character thanks to some of the young fringe players that have come into the team. Players such as Imran Khan and Ramaal Lewis have shown great commitment, and I am hoping they can continue to perform for us as we push to squeeze into the play-offs,” said Miller.