Under the aegis of coach, Paul Nixon, Tallawahs put up consistent performances throughout the league phase to be placed second on the points table. However, the Jamaican set-up lost their footing and suffered to a couple of defeats after they qualified for the playoffs. On expected lines, Chris Gayle has topped the batting charts for Tallawahs, with 308 runs at an average of 43.28.
The Tallawahs skipper has been assisted by the usual suspects - Shakib Al Hasan and Kumar Sangakkara. The think-tank would also be buoyed by 23-year-old Rovman Powell's encouraging returns. The right-handed batsman has been one of the finds of the tournament, having accumulated 203 runs at a noteworthy average of 29.
Going into their play-off match against Amazon Warriors, the coaching staff would be a touch worried about Andre Russell. The power-packed all-rounder is facing a two-year ban after he missed three out-of-competition doping tests in a span of 12 months. It seems to have affected his game in their match against St. Lucia Zouks where he was hit for 64 runs in 4 overs.
In addition to worrying about Russell's preparedness for the crucial match, Gayle not getting enough support at the top of the order has turned out to be an Achilles heel for Tallawahs. His opening partner, Chadwick Walton, has struggled for consistency. His only innings of note came against Barbados Tridents when he crunched an impressive 54-ball 97.
Dale Steyn led the attack with grit and gumption and picked up 12 wickets, but the redoubtable fast bowler has returned to South Africa as he had to attend the board's annual awards ceremony. In his absence, Kesrick Williams will be expected to raise his stakes. The 26-year-old seamer has bowled with a good burst of pace and has extracted nifty movement off the surface in the tournament. The spin duo of Imad Wasim and Shakib will look to keep a tight leash in the middle overs.
At the other end of the spectrum, Chris Lynn has been the bedrock of Amazon Warriors' batting line-up, having aggregated 398 runs at an average of 49.75 this season. Jason Mohammed has been unnervingly calm when Amazon Warriors have found themselves under pressure. Dwayne Smith and Martin Guptill have also chipped in with useful scores over the course of the tournament. On the bowling front, Adam Zampa, Sohail Tanvir and Rayad Emrit have been the chief wicket-takers.
With the track at Warner Park likely to be on the slower side, the trio should enjoy their bowling stints. Moreover, Emrit has an enviable record across the length and breadth of the Caribbean Islands. Even at Warner Park, he has showed his class and quality by snaring 11 wickets at 16.81 in the shortest format of the game.
The seasoned campaigner is also known for his shrewd leadership skills in the Caribbean. In the absence of Guptill, who had to return to the national fold, Emrit has captained the side admirably.
The form book perhaps points to Amazon Warriors having a slight edge, but Tallawahs also have the required arsenal to qualify for the final.
When: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Jamaica Tallawahs, 1st Playoff, August 3, 7:00 PM local (4:30 AM IST).
Where: Warner Park, Basseterre, St. Kitts
What to expect: Barring a few clouds, the weather forecast promises clear skies.
What they said:
"I think the guys are going to be very upbeat. This is what we wanted to do, to end in the top two, and that is what we just did. It is just to go out there now in St Kitts and perform as best we can. Even when we lost games this season the guys were still upbeat. It is one family here which is good and I hope we can carry on the performances and take it to the knockouts," Dwayne Smith of Amazon Warriors said.
"We really want to go to St Kitts and get the final place secured. Fort Lauderdale hasn't been a happy hunting ground for us over the last few days but there are a lot of positives we can take from those games looking forward to the finals," Rovman Powell, Tallawahs' middle-order batsman, said.
Squads:
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Dwayne Smith, Nic Maddinson, Chris Lynn, Jason Mohammed, Christopher Barnwell, Sohail Tanvir, Anthony Bramble(w), Rayad Emrit(c), Veerasammy Permaul, Steven Jacobs, Adam Zampa, Shimron Hetmyer, Orlando Peters, Ali Khan, Assad Fudadin, Paul Wintz
Jamaica Tallawahs: Chadwick Walton, Chris Gayle(c), Kumar Sangakkara(w), Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Shakib Al Hasan, Timroy Allen, Imad Wasim, Dale Steyn, Garey Mathurin, Kesrick Williams, Jonathan Foo, Andre McCarthy, Alex Ross, Oshane Thomas, Nkrumah Bonner, Jon-Russ Jaggesar
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