KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s coach Junior Bennett has warned that his side will be a united force in the Caribbean Twenty20 starting next Sunday in Trinidad and Tobago.
The veteran coach was speaking against the backdrop of reports of team disunity during the last CT20 in Antigua and Barbados.
“This is a closely knit team and the players are working together to get things in place,” Bennett told the Jamaican Observer newspaper.
“Once they continue along that line we will have good results. It will surely enhance our chances of winning the competition.”
Jamaica reached the final of the 2012 edition, before going down in the final to eventual champions T&T at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
After the tournament, two of the side’s leading players, Andre Russell and Shawn Findlay, complained of a lack team spirit in the camp.
Jamaica will be without stars Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels for the January 6-20 campaign but Bennett pointed to West Indies Under-19 batsman John Campbell and national Under-19 wicketkeeper Aldaine Thomas as exciting additions to the squad.
“We have young players in this squad that want to do well. They have meshed well with the senior players, so it has been a smooth process and everyone wants to win,” Bennett pointed out.
Despite producing quality sides in recent years, Jamaica are still searching for their first win in the CT20.
They open next month’s campaign with a high-octane clash with the defending chamions T&T in a repeat of last season’s final.
