Seniors must 'step up and show worth'

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Newly appointed Jamaica senior cricket team head coach, Gus Logie, says explosive opener Chris Gayle will be missed during next month's lucrative Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament (CT20).

However, he is hopeful that other players will step up and fill the void.

Gayle, who has been one of the country's top batsmen in recent years, will miss the tournament due to club commitments overseas, where for the second year running, he will be turning out for Western Australia in the Australia Twenty20 Big Bash championship.

The Big Bash championship will also be staged at the same time as the CT20.

Difficult to replace

"A player of Gayle's calibre will always be missed by any team and it will be difficult to replace him," said Logie during one of the recent trial matches to help select the team for the CT20.

"However, like other teams in the region, who will also be missing key players, we will simply have to make the requisite adjustments and hope that other players, especially the senior players, step up and show their worth," he added.

The CT20, which will be staged jointly by Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados, will see the winners taking home US$25,000 (approximately J$2.2 million), the highest for any regional competition.

It will also see the winners going on to represent the region in the Airtel Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa, which last year offered a minimum of US$200,000 (approx. J$17.2 million) to participating teams and US$2.5 million (approx J$215 million) to the champions.

Western Australia, should they reach the final of the Big Bash, will represent Australia in the Champions League.

"It (Gayle being unavailable) is asituation we knew of for a while now, so it has been a matter of putting things in place to try and deal with it," Logie explained.

"The cricket landscape has changed a lot in recent years and it is in the interest of most players to earn as much as they can. And, if they choose club over country, it's their decision.

"What we would love to do is to win the tournament with the players we have and we will be doing everything in our power to do so."

Jamaica, in Gayle's absence, will look mainly to captain Wavell Hinds, opener Xavier Marshall, batsman Marlon Samuels, wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jr, spinner Nikita Miller and fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who have a vast amount of international experience.

Also expected to play integral roles are new West Indies and West Indies A recruits, bowling all-rounder Andre Russell and batsman Danza Hyatt, respectively, and left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, who took the most wickets for Jamaica during last season's tournament.

Full squad

The squad is completed by all-rounder David Bernard Jr, young batsman Horace Miller, spinner Odean Brown, new recruit Sheldon Cotterell - a left-arm pacer, and batting all-rounder Shawn Findlay.

Jamaica will open their account at the CT20 against defending champions Guyana on January 10, the tournament's opening day, and will participate in Group A alongside England Twenty20 runners-up Somerset, the Combined Campuses and Colleges and the Windward Islands.

Group B comprises Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Canada, the Leeward Islands, and England Twenty20 champions Hampshire.

The tournament, which will be televised live throughout the region on ESPN, is scheduled to end on January 23.

Jamaica, who will depart the island on January 7, will continue their preparation today with their first practice match, against a Jamaica Cricket Association Select XI at Sabina Park, beginning at 2 p.m.

The game should have been played last weekend, but was postponed twice due to rain.