After losing the experienced opening pair of Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton, the Jamaica Tallawahs were considered one of the weaklings in this year’s staging of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament. But the defending champions are proving to be anything but.

The two-time champions are currently sitting in third on eight points after racking up four wins in six games.

The class and depth of the team was evident in two of those victories, one of which came against rivals Guyana Amazon Warriors, where the bowling attack successfully defended a small total to secure a two-run win.

From a batting perspective, they showed depth and grit led by a composed unbeaten half-century by Andre McCarthy when chasing down 174 in an emphatic performance, defeating St Lucia Stars by five-wickets.

Englishman Paul Nixon, who guided the team to both titles in 2013 and last year, is seemingly the right formula for the Jamaican franchise — with or without the explosive stars — as they failed to sparkle in the 2014 and 2015 edition under two different coaches.

“Losing any big names is always going to be tough, but them not being around gives other players an opportunity to step up. Andre McCarthy didn’t get a go last year, but all of a sudden, he is now our man and he is really growing well.

“So we are delighted with where the guys are and it’s a great opportunity for the guys. Young [Trevon] Griffiths came and played beautifully up front against St Kitts last night (Monday), so we have so many options its crazy, but it is just about getting the right balance against the right team on the right pitch,” Nixon told the Jamaica Observer at a welcome event at Jamaica Pegasus on Tuesday.

One of Nixon’s biggest challenges is coping with replacing a few players who had to return home for international duties.

Spin bowling all-rounders Imad Wasim of Pakistan and Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan were both missing from the Tallawahs line-up in their 37-run defeat to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, now home to Gayle, on Monday.

However, Wasim, who picked up four wickets in the 17 overs he bowled in five matches, at an impressive economy rate of 5.35, which is the best for Tallawahs so far, is set to be replaced by another Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah.

Mahmudullah has 2,344 runs from 123 innings, at a strike rate of 114.28, and 67 wickets with an economy rate of 7.04 in this format of the game.

“Obviously, it was disappointing to lose Imad Wasim and it was a disappointing night last night against St Kitts, but at the moment we have been looking at a lot of guys for a spin-bowling, batting option. We are looking at Mahmudullah, but we just have to finalise some paperwork before we announce the whole thing.

“But we are positive; our pace attack is working good at the moment and I think the brand of cricket may have changed a little bit of our tactics to go a little bit more pace focus than spin focus,” Nixon noted.

Reflecting on Monday night’s loss where they came up short chasing a daunting 209, Nixon defended the decision to play with an extra batsman instead of a front-line spinner in Gary Mathurin or Jon-Russ Jaggesar.

“We decided to go with the extra batsman instead of the bowler and that was tough for Mathurin or Jaggesar. But like I said, I think if we had held our catches and restrict them to 180 on a really good wicket, we would have won that game,” he declared.

But with that now in the past, Nixon is eyeing a perfect four wins from as many games at Sabina Park, despite being only one win away from joining early qualifiers Trinbago Knight Riders and the Patriots in the play-offs.

They will be seeking a positive start against St Lucia Stars tomorrow, with the other games being against the Knight Riders on Saturday, the Patriots next Wednesday, and the Amazon Warriors on September 1.

The confidence exuded by Nixon is mainly due to the fact that a number of the Tallawahs superstar players are yet to fully hit top form, including Captain Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara.

“I am very confident. We need to win one more game and I am very confident about that, and we are coming out to do that in the next game against St Lucia Stars just to get it out the way and then go on to the finals where anything can happen,” the experienced coach stated.