Jamaica Tallawahs all-rounder Andre Russell has described today’s encounter against the Amazon Warriors as “crucial” for his side as the visitors look to shrug off Sunday’s defeat against the same opponents in match 24 of the Hero CPL T20 today at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
“The mood is great as always. We lost the last two games but I am not seeing any bad face or bad vibes. We still have a fantastic team. I think the support is there so we as players know what to do. It is very crucial so we will take it step by step,” said the hard-hitting batsman yesterday during the Tallawahs press briefing at the Guyana National Stadium’s boardroom.
Accompanied by manager and former Tallawahs pacer Andrew Richardson along with ex-West Indies legendary pacer and now team bowling Coach Courtney Walsh, the Jamaica camp seemed upbeat heading into their match against the Amazon Warriors who got the better of them on Sunday in Kingston.
Addressing the possible plans for today’s match, “Superman” as Russell is commonly referred to, said taking things “step-by-step” is important for the Tallawahs today.
“The toss, whether we bat first or bowl first we have to do it positively and we know the importance of this game when setting a total. We have to do it to the best of our ability. We know Guyana has a good team. We don’t know what the wicket will be like tomorrow (today) it looks like a decent track to me and the best team will come out tomorrow.”
The last time the two teams met, Brad Hodge and Assad Fudadin smoked 50s while Ronsford Beaton’s four wickets spearheaded a collective bowling performance which saw the Warriors to a comprehensive 84-run win at Sabina Park .
Yesterday Walsh pointed out that measures are in place to ensure a good outcome for the Tallawahs.
“It’s a different track from Sabina Park, it’s more conducive to spin but we want to put the bad games behind us. Guyana have their tails up and we have to bounce back and bounce back hard. The time is right for the match winners to perform so we have to be on our A-game,” said the former fast-bowler.
On the topic of Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene who has been out of form in the first half of the competition, Walsh said that it is a possibility that the right-hand batsman could get another crack at the apple, deeming him a “class act” and an experienced, important player.
He also added that the Jamaicans are injury free heading into this match. While Russell was hit in the leg in the previous match he has bounced back superbly and is confident of a collective outing come today.
The match is expected to bowl off at 18:00hrs.
