Jeff Miller

Powell was appointed captain last season when the two-time CPL champions struggled to find consistency and missed the playoffs after only winning four of their 10 matches.

However, come next season, Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller expects Powell to work more closely with the new coaching staff headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

“I think that Chanderpaul along with the assistant coaches has expressed that to Rovman," Miller revealed in a recent interview with Sportsmax.TV.

"We have been having some great meetings and I think this year we will see that all-inclusive where the player, as the captain, is involved in all aspects of team management, selection, etcetera,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV.

“I think we will see a different side of him (Rovman) this year.”

Turning his attention to Brandon King, who has been brought in to open the batting, Miller said the former Amazon Warrior will be given the opportunity to express himself in the coming season.

“Brandon is another dynamic player and we believe that having Brandon at the top of the order with Kennar (Lewis) will produce some exciting games, and Brandon also wanted to come home and we gave him that opportunity to play for the Tallawahs and express himself and we know how Brandon can express himself,” Miller said.

The CEO also hinted that the international players who have been signed will be very suited for the potentially spin-friendly pitches in Guyana that will host several matches including the CPL finals for the next three years. 

"When you see our international players then you will see why we selected those players because they will make a difference in Guyana," said Miller, who also expressed confidence that the Tallawahs will give a good account of themselves in the 2022 season.

"I am confident about the team. Look, we have a dream team support staff - Chanderpaul, Sir Curtly Ambrose, we have Andre Coley. We have an announcement to make in the coming days pertaining to our manager and that will really cement our support staff."

The event was held on Tuesday evening at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, which will be the home of Antigua & Barbuda Falcons when they compete in the 2024 edition of the Republic Bank CPL – the Biggest Party in Sport.

Krishna (Kris) Persaud, Founder and President of WORLDWIDE Sports Management Group was thrilled as he showcased the new team’s name and the colorful and dynamic logo for the first time to excited guests. Mr. Persaud also expressed delight in having the team officially on board for the regional event, which attracts sold-out audiences for matches.

“We are brand new; we are here, we are ready … let’s get ready to play! The Antigua & Barbuda Falcons will bring a unique energy and vitality to the Republic Bank CPL. We are ready to fly high and conquer what is before us. We want to establish a winner’s culture within the team and also a culture of winning and success off the field – among every individual associated with this franchise and the amazing fans we will have at our special home base at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in lovely Antigua," Persaud said.

“What you are witnessing today as we unveil the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, is something truly special and I want to thank the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, who have worked closely with us to bring the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons to life. Antigua is our home … this country has a rich cricket history, and the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons will create more great history on these shores. It is now time for the Falcons to fly high," he added.

Details on the overall structure of the Antigua & Barbuda Falcons and the coaching and management staff for the team will be announced at a later date.

The 2024 Republic Bank CPL will take place from August 28 to October 6 with games taking place in Antigua for the first time in 10 years. The final will once again take place in Guyana at The National Stadium in Providence.  The tournament will also plans to have matches in Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. Once again, the window for the CPL will not clash with West Indies fixtures, so the best Caribbean talent will be on show at the Biggest Party in Sport.

Jeff Miller, CEO and General Manager of the Franchise was delighted at its return.

“Welcome back Antigua & Barbuda! This is where the ‘party’ in cricket started, and we are delighted to be back for this exciting event. We plan to have a full house for every match with our Antigua & Barbuda Falcons on show. This is what we have been waiting for. It will be amazing to see the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium packed and our lovely super fans enjoying the action and the atmosphere, as well as seeing great cricket on the field, the non-stop party in the stands and all the festivities that come with cricket in the West Indies," he said.

The two-time champions endured a disastrous season in 2019 when they won only two games and finished at the foot of the six-team standings. With the disaster behind them, the Tallawahs decided on a complete overhaul of the squad that included releasing veteran T20 batsman Christopher Gayle while retaining only five players from the previous campaign.

In Monday’s draft, the Tallawahs brought in 2016 T20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite and the big-hitting Glen Phillips to complement Captain Rovman Powell, Andre Russell and Chadwick Walton. They have also added Nkrumah Bonner and Andre McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Fidel Edwards, Veerasammy Permaul, Sandeep Lamichhane and Preston McSween have bolstered the bowling.

“I am hoping that we have a better team. We were rebuilding and that was the whole idea,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV on Tuesday.

“After retaining the five we were looking to rebuild around them.”

Miller explained that they brought in Edwards, the former West Indies pace bowler, to partner young fast bowler Oshane Thomas and McSween to support them both. Right-arm leg-spin bowler Sandeep and Permaul, he said, add a cutting edge to a bowling attack that he expects to be effective on the pitches in Trinidad.

“We expect the pitches to be bowler-friendly,” Miller said, indicating that he believes the pitches in the twin-island republic to wear as the tournament progresses.

Miller is also hopeful that the Tallawahs’ batting will deliver this coming season. He is relying on the experienced Powell, Russell, Phillips and Walton to get the bulk of the runs but in Brathwaite and the returning Andre McCarthy, he is expecting additional stability and firepower.

Brathwaite, he believes, can “do damage” at the back end of the innings but further up the order is where he expects McCarthy to finally deliver on his potential. “I am hoping that McCarthy and Nkrumah Bonner can solidify the number-three slot. I am hoping that a maturing McCarthy can step up to the plate,” he said.

Without going into detail, Miller hinted that they might have missed out on some players they were hoping to sign but those players were drafted by other franchises before the Tallawahs had a shot at them.

Blackwood was a last-minute call up for the Jamaica Tallawahs after Andre McCarthy lost his place in the squad after he was exposed to someone infected with the Covid-19 virus. Nevertheless, while he did not necessarily cover himself in glory, the diminutive Jamaican batsman did just about enough to satisfy his employers.

In eight matches, Blackwood batted seven times scoring 189 runs at an average of 27.00. Critically, he became a useful replacement for an out of form Chadwick Walton and with the very reliable Glen Phillips, had the two best opening partnerships for the Tallawahs during the season.

He scored 74 while mounting an opening stand of 51 with Phillips against the Barbados Tridents. He also collaborated in an opening stand of 84 with Phillips against the St Lucia Zouks in a match that Tallawahs somehow managed to lose.

His contribution of 25 was more valuable than the actual score as it helped put his team in a winning position.

Miller was pleased with his overall performance.

“Jermaine contributing to the team when he got the opportunity only showed how professional he is,” Miller said.

“He was always ready, very vocal in the dressing room, a team player. Jermaine is a player that would definitely be a part of our T20 team going forward.”

The franchise that has borne the brunt of public criticism from former player Chris Gayle and Russell, has also retained Rovman Powell, Oshane Thomas and Chadwick Walton.

 “The Tallawahs organisation will be seeking to rebuild in 2020. We are extremely excited to have Andre Russell back for another year. Andre was recently named as the leading T20 cricketer in the world by the 2020 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack,” said CEO Jefferson Miller.

“We are delighted for the opportunity to retain Oshane Thomas and Rovman Powell, both rising stars in West Indies and world cricket. I’m looking forward to having the veteran Chadwick Walton back in the dressing room.

“Chadwick brings a wealth of leadership experience to the team and has been a dominant player over the years in the CPL.  Overall, we are looking forward to successful CPL 2020 and returning the championship to Jamaica.”

International retentions and signings will be announced at a later date. This year teams can retain as many players from their 2019 squads as they wish. They could also transfer players to other teams and sign emerging players.

The CPL is scheduled to take place between August 19 and September 26, but the tournament organisers are currently watching the current situation with COVID-19 closely and are liaising with medical advisors and governments.

They will make a decision on whether the tournament can proceed as planned, or at a different time, as soon as possible.

They won the inaugural tournament in 2013 before doing so again in 2016 and 2022.

In the next edition of the Caribbean’s biggest T20 showcase, the Tallawahs will not be present.

In their place will be a not-yet-named Antigua-based franchise. This won’t be Antigua’s first time hosting a franchise as, for the first two editions of the CPL, they were the home of the Antigua Hawksbills who won only three of their 16 games before eventually replaced by the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

After acquiring the team in 2017, Guyanese businessman Kris Persaud sold the Tallawahs back to the CPL ahead of the 2024 season because he said he was unable to sustain the team given a lack of support from the Jamaican Government.

Former Tallawahs CEO, Jeff Miller, shed more light on this lack of support from the Government.

“Over the years, we have failed to get any backing or support from the Jamaican Government. We have submitted proposals over the years requesting Government support and we have failed to reach some kind of agreement to say that the Government is supporting the franchise,” Miller told SportsMax.tv in an interview on Wednesday.

“The business plan of CPL entails that the Governments play a major role in financial support of the franchises and that’s what the other franchises are receiving from their respective countries and Jamaica has failed to participate in those environs,” he added.

In fact, Jamaica, one of the regions proudest cricketing nations, has not hosted a CPL game since September 2019 when the Tallawahs lost by 20 runs to the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

“Unfortunately, the franchise cannot be sustained in Jamaica. We cannot have a franchise where we don’t have home games,” Miller said.

“When you don’t have home games, you’re losing ticket sales, you’re losing merchandising, you’re losing concession, you’re losing sponsors. So, it’s not only the government support, you’re losing others as well because what business would want to support a franchise and they can’t get any benefits from the franchise playing within the country? For what we see, there were no games scheduled for 2024 either! It’s unsustainable,” Miller added.

This was due to the reluctance of the Government to pay the CPL hosting fee for the last four years. When asked why this was, Miller said he wasn’t privy to those discussions but always had promises from Jamaica’s Minister of Sport, the hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange regarding financial support.

“I’m not at privilege to those conversations. Those conversations would’ve been between them and CPL. I’m not sure what transpired but from the Tallawahs standpoint, we know that the minister was very graceful in her discussions with us but when it came to funding that’s when things would go off track. We were promised on numerous occasions that there would be something in the budget, nothing substantial but even a small gesture, we were not able to receive those funds,” he said.

Persaud and Miller will lead the new Antigua-based franchise which will be part of next year's competition, replacing the Tallawahs in the six-team Twenty20 tournament. The CPL is in search of new owners for the Jamaica-based franchise.

Miller said they have gotten commitments from the Antiguan Government and are looking forward to a fruitful partnership in the future.

“We have commitments from the Antiguan Government. We can’t disclose any information, per se, but it’s substantially more than what we were getting from Jamaica,” he said.

“We can’t tell the players; Jamaica’s not supporting us so we can’t pay your salary. All of those things have to be taken care of so we’re looking forward to greener pastures and Antigua seems to be in a better position to support and seems to want to have a CPL team back in Antigua. We think it’s a good fit for the franchise,” Miller added.

Announcements related to the branding of the new Antigua franchise will come next month, according to Miller,

“I’m engaging the fans in Antigua to participate in the naming of the franchise. That deadline should be around January 20^th or so. Then, we will announce the name as well as the colors and logo,” he said.

Hero CPL announced earlier this week that TKR had signed both Russell and Nicholas Pooran for the 2022 season of the CPL that is set to run from August 30 to September 30, 2022. The two-time winners, Tallawahs signed Allen and compatriot Brandon King, who represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors, respectively last season.

Miller, speaking with Sportsmax.TV Monday night, said while the news might have come as a shock to many, Russell’s departure was something that the Jamaica Tallawahs expected.

 “Russell, last year, made a statement that it was his last year, so I don’t think it’s shocking to us,” Miller said. “But look, he has been a gentleman. He called and said the reasons why, and this is franchise cricket, it’s a business, and as a business players have to look for out for the best for themselves and their families, so I wish Russell all the best and hopefully, we will see him back sometime in the future.”

That said, Miller addressed the king-sized hole Russell leaves behind in the Tallawahs line-up saying that fellow Jamaican, Allen, is more than capable of stepping up.

“I think Fabian Allen brings a whole lot to the dynamics of the franchise. He is a very dynamic player, fielder, bowler; he always has a good CPL and I am looking that Fabian will step in and fill that position that Russell left as a leading all-rounder and I think he is ready and he really wants to excel and we are giving him an opportunity to express himself in a big way.”

Miller explained that the Jamaica Tallawahs have also signed a number of international players that he expects will come in and bolster the team that only won four of its 10 games last season and failed to make the playoffs.

“I think when you see the combination of what we have in combination with the international players that we have signed that you will see that the Tallawahs will have a very competitive year.”

The names of the international players will be released by Hero CPL in the near future.

The entirety of this season’s tournament will take place on the island of Trinidad and Tobago as organisers, like many around the globe, operate with an abundance of caution due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The six CPL franchises and match officials reported to the twin-island republic a week ago where they have been quarantined at the Hilton Hotel in St Ann's.  The tournament will get under way on August 18.

Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller confirmed that Sarwan, who was appointed to the post two years ago, was not among that number.

“Mr Sarwan requested leave for personal reasons and that was granted,” Miller said in an interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

“It’s a big loss, Sars (Sarwan) brings a lot to the game - his knowledge, his experience and the way he has dealt with the players over the years, so it is a great loss,” he added.

Sarwan will be replaced by former West Indies spinner Ryan Austin.  In April, Sarwan was in the news after a public spat with former teammate and then Tallawahs batsman Chris Gayle.  In a Youtube rant Gayle blamed Sarwan after he was released by the team.  Sarwan denied having anything to do with Gayle’s release.

The Tallawahs, champions in 2013 and 2016, won only three of 11 games and were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Trinbago Knight Riders in what was a lop-sided affair.

Powell, who scored 33 in that semi-final loss, his best score of the season, had an otherwise disastrous season with the bat.

Prior to last week’s semi-final match, Powell had scores of 8, 23, 2, 4, 1, 2, 5, and 2. He was equally poor with the ball, failing to take a wicket while conceding 109 runs in a season he would want to quickly forget.

However, notwithstanding the disappointing season, Miller said both still have his full support.

“I am going to fully back the coach and I am going to fully back the captain. They both did the job at hand with the personnel that they had. I am not going to bash any of them,” he said.

“This is a team, not individuals and both of them did as much as they can with the personnel that they had.”

That said, Miller concedes that the Tallawahs went into the season knowing that they had deficiencies in the batting. Andre McCarthy, for example, was unable to travel to Trinidad for the tournament after being exposed to someone who was infected with the COVID-19 virus. His absence was missed.

“We can see from the performance that we were lacking that one batsman who was a specialist batsman who would come in a serve a purpose and we would have the big hitters around that batsman, but unfortunately, we did not have that one specialist batsman and it showed up in our performances from the batters,” Miller said.

“McCarthy, or any other specialist batsman, would have helped us out this year.”

In a recent interview on Sportsnation Live on Nationwide Radio in Kingston, Miller spoke highly of Russell and expressed optimism about Dre Russ’ return next season.

“Andre is a team player. I can’t say more about the support he has given us. He has been a tremendous voice in the dressing room; he has been a mentor to Rovman Powell (JT team captain). He has been involved in our discussions and I would anticipate that Mr Russell will be back next year.”

Miller’s confidence belies the outburst from the former Tallawahs captain in April when in a rant on an Instagram Live, he declared that he would not return to the team after the just-concluded season.

Russell’s outburst was made in the wake of former teammate Chris Gayle announcing that he would not be playing for the Tallawahs for the 2020 season.

In that rant, Russell revealed that he only heard about Chris Gayle’s departure from the team when Gayle sent him a copy of a report in the Jamaica Gleaner that suggested that the self-proclaimed Universe Boss was not going to be retained by the two-time CPL champions and that there were going to changes to the coaching staff.

That information, when combined with statements from Marlon Samuels that suggested that Russell knew about Gayle's departure and that Gayle's subsequent comments, gave the impression that he knew what was going on behind the scenes.

The perception infuriated Russell, who took to social media to clear the air.

“I have another year’s contract with the Tallawahs and I am going to play and try and win because that is all I play for, but this will be my last because I have been getting mixed up with all these (expletive) that is happening and I can’t be playing cricket and I am not comfortable,” he said.

“And I think another franchise that has been coming last and fifth and fourth in CPL will appreciate me more. I am not getting it here.”

Russell was among the few standout players for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the recently concluded season of the Hero CPL, scoring 222 runs at an average of 44.40 and at a healthy strike rate of 141.40. He scored three 50s.

However, the Tallawahs only won three of their 11 games in the competition. They were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions, the Trinbago Knight Riders.