THOUGH Jamaica Tallawahs claimed a vital win on Saturday to boost their chances of advancing to the play-off stage of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), veteran cricket coach Junior Bennett says their batting remains a cause for concern.

The 37-run victory against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots — the Tallawahs’ third in six games — pushed them into fourth place in the six-team preliminary standings with six points.

Opening batsman Glenn Phillips was the architect of their success in Port of Spain, hitting a 61-ball unbeaten 79 to help the two-time former CPL champions to 147-6 from their allotted 20 overs. Jermaine Blackwood added 27.

The Tallawahs bowlers, who have been miserly on the slow, bowler-friendly surfaces in Trinidad and Tobago, did the rest by dismissing the Patriots for 110.

Medium pacer Carlos Brathwaite grabbed 3-11, while spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Sandeep Lamichhane captured two wickets each.

“It was a welcome win by the Tallawahs and it was good to see the way Glenn Phillips applied himself to see us home. I am hoping that our batting will be a bit more consistent going forward,” Bennett told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

Saturday’s win put the Tallawahs back on track for a top-four play-off spot after they had slipped to fifth place. Last season they missed the play-offs after winning only two of 10 games.

Three-time CPL Twenty20 winners Trinbago Knight Riders, who have been perfect from six outings, lead the preliminary table with 12 points. They are followed by second-placed St Lucia Zouks (10 points), last season’s losing finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors (six), title holders Barbados Tridents (four), and last-placed Patriots (two).

In past seasons, the CPL’s preliminary games were staged at a number of venues across the region. However, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic all games in this edition are being played behind closed doors at Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba.

From the outset, the pitches have generally been sluggish in pace, and with them being heavily used over the past two weeks, the circumstances have not improved. Batsmen have struggled to score freely, leading to mostly low-scoring contests.

While the Tallawahs bowlers have impressed, their batting unit has only passed 150 runs once in six outings.

“I think we’re bowling fairly well. I am only worried about the inconsistency of our batting,” emphasised Bennett, the former Jamaica senior team cricket coach.

“The batters are finding it difficult to cope with how the pitches are playing. I know with so many matches being played that the pitches will deteriorate quickly and make life difficult for the batsmen,” he explained.

The Tallawahs’ next game is slated for tomorrow against the Trinbago Knight Riders in Tarouba.