TALLAWAHS SHAKE-UP - Captain, coach, manager could be on the move

The owners of the Jamaica Tallawahs Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise have initiated a radical reorganisation of the team ahead of the 2020 edition of the T20 tournament which is slated for August and September of this year.

The Sunday Gleaner has been reliably informed that there could be a change of captain following the team’s woeful performance in the 2019 edition where the Tallawahs finished a disappointing last in the table, with two wins and eight losses.

Jamaica Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller told The Sunday Gleaner that the situation with captain Chris Gayle lies squarely at the feet of the owners. However, he did confirm that there will be changes for the new season.

“When you have a team that came last in the competition, obviously there are going to be changes, it can’t be business as usual,” said Miller.

The Sunday Gleaner understands that all-rounder Rovman Powell is being touted as the new captain for the Tallawahs who won the CPL in 2013 and 2016.

Powell led the team in a couple of matches last season, before injury put an end to his campaign.

In the meantime, first-time head coach Donovan Miller is also not expected to return. Miller is set to be replaced by Barbadian and former West Indies coach Floyd Reifer.

When contacted about the latest developments, Miller who has coached more than five franchises in T20 cricket, had this to say from his United Kingdom base: “I haven’t spoken to CEO Jeff Miller since November of last year. The last time we spoke, he had asked me to write a report on the team’s performance from last season, which I did and sent to him and the owners, and that was it. What I can tell you, though, is that I have been in talks with two to three other franchises, and I am almost 99 per cent sure, once we get the green light, that I will be coaching in the CPL this season.”

Team manager Andrew Richardson, who has been with the two-time champions since 2013 as a player and then transitioned to management, is also expected to move on to another franchise. Richardson is said to have been recruited by the defending champions Barbados Tridents.

In the meantime, the CPL could go ahead as scheduled in August and September, according to the organisers. According to media reports, plans are being developed to stage it behind closed doors, without overseas players, or in a “social-distancing stadium” in Barbados, if required.

Pete Russell, CPL’s chief executive officer, told cricket website espncricinfo that his organisation will be looking at different permutations in terms of what could or couldn’t happen.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we’ll be able to play it. We’re only going to play if it’s safe to do so, but we’ve been approached by a lot of the countries who want it to happen. The reason [for that] is that it’s a big sporting event, and it could act as a sign or a marker that the Caribbean is open for business again,” Russell was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.

The Barbados Tridents are the defending champions for the CPL, which is slated to run from August 19 to September 26, 2020.