IN the wake of the sudden withdrawal of Daren Powell from the Jamaica cricket squad for the remainder of this season’s West Indies Cricket Board’s regional four-day tournament, coach Junior Bennett believes he has adequate replacements to fill the void left by the out-of-favour West Indies pacer in the bowling department.

Bennett told the Observer yesterday that speedsters Andrew Richardson and promising 21-year-old Jason Dawes are well equipped to take their place in the team and help secure Jamaica’s third straight hold on the four-day crown.

“They have played at that level before and they’ve been training over a period of time, so I think they will come in and fit quite well with experienced players in the team to also guide them along,” he said.

Richardson is relatively experienced at first-class level, having taken 134 wickets in 45 matches with an average of 25.23 per wicket, and was on the West Indies’ ill-fated 2009 tour of England.

However, he failed to break into the Test team that was swept 2-0 in the series.

The powerfully-built 28-year-old pacer was one of Jamaica’s leading bowlers in last season’s regional competition with 33 wickets.

Dawes, on the other hand, has played only one first-class game, which was against the Trinidad and Tobago team in which he took two wickets.

Added Bennett: “They have been a part of the set-up the last two or three seasons, so it would be good for them to come and show what they are made of and grab the opportunity.”

Yesterday, the Observer reported that the 31-year-old Powell had contacted chairman of selectors Nehemiah Perry about withdrawing from the Jamaica team for the rest of this season.

The former West Indies pacer who missed out on the tournament opener due to suspension, picked up only two wickets in the other two matches and reportedly cited “personal reasons” for his decision.

Powell, who made his first-class debut in the 2000-2001 season, has taken 269 wickets at an average of 33.36 in 98 matches.

He has also played 37 Test matches, capturing 85 wickets at 47.85 apiece.

Despite stressing that the team remains in good stead to maintain their hold on the title when they face the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) team on Feb 12, Bennett conceded that Powell’s experience will be missed.

“Well, definitely. He’s a very experienced fast bowler and as the chairman indicated, he is not eligible for selection for personal reasons, so as a team w’ll have to pick up ourselves and move on,” he said.