Wednesday 30th July 2014 – Kingston, Jamaica
The Jamaica Tallawahs are home and have three
decisive encounters in front of them at Sabina Park
this week – but while their first opponent, the Antigua Hawksbills, are at the
foot of the table without registering a win, Jamaica Tallawahs Captain, Chris
Gayle, says this does not mean it will be an easy game on Thursday.
He comments; “Cricket is such a funny sport. When
teams are back against the wall they can produce their best cricket in a
tournament so we must be on our guard and be ready for whatever they have to
throw at us. Our aim is to win all three home matches and to add some momentum
going into St. Kitts. Last year the support was fantastic and I am anticipating
similar on display this time around.”
Jamaica Tallawah’s Coach, Mickey Arthur, also gave
his views and stressed the need to get more wins. “We are quite pleased with
where we are right now. If you told me before the tournament that we would win
three games out of four on the road before coming to Jamaica, I would take that in a
heartbeat. So for now, we have to ensure we get the wins at home. The winner of
the group stage automatically qualifies for the final and we would like to be
in that position, so it is important the intensity remains the same, and we
keep working hard like we have done since we started in Grenada.”
Antigua Hawksbills Coach, Tim Nielsen, also shared
some insight saying; “Having a cluster of Jamaican-born players in my team is a
huge asset as they are familiar with the surface and the conditions. We have
not lost heart by any means. We still have a realistic chance of reaching the
semi-finals and we are going to press hard to get there. Who knows - a win in Jamaica may be
the momentum and drive that kicks off our season. With St. Lucia in a
few days’ time as well, this week is make or break for us.”
Summing up Hawksbills Captain, Marlon Samuels, said;
“Results have not gone the way we wanted, however we have to back ourselves to
get the result on the day. We have match winners in our team and I believe if
we can have a good start tomorrow then things should
fall into place for us.”
ENDS
About the Caribbean Premier League:
Caribbean Premier League is a
franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most
compelling aspects of Caribbean life –
dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. The inaugural CPL,
billed as “the Biggest Party in Sport” featured six teams competing throughout
the region in August 2013 – Jamaica Tallawahs, Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel,
Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Lucia Zouks, Antigua
Hawksbills. The Jamaica Tallawahs, captained by Chris Gayle, emerged as
champions.
CPL 2014 takes place from
July 11th to August 16th 2014.
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