JAMAICA Tallawahs Assistant Coach Andre Coley says the captain and head coach were central to the team’s 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 (T20) title-winning campaign.

The Tallawahs upstaged Barbados Royals by eight wickets during the final in Guyana last month to lift their third CPL crown.

Skipper Rovman Powell, who piloted the Tallawahs during a disappointing campaign in 2021, received loads of praise across the board this time around, particularly in the face of up-and-down results during the preliminary stage.

The great former West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in his first season as Tallawahs head coach, also earned plaudits.

“Rovman and Shiv led the group quite well and I am very impressed with how Rovman has been growing as a leader and captain,” said Coley who shared the assistant coaching role with fast-bowling legend Sir Curtly Ambrose.

“With each game you could see Rovman was improving as a leader in terms of how he marshalled the boys on the field and how he went about the bowling plans, which was supported by the field placing. The timing of some of his bowling changes, you could tell he was in tune with what was happening,” Coley, the head coach of both the West Indies A team and academy set-up, added.

During a television interview after the CPL final Powell had credited a “leadership group”, comprising Brandon King, Kennar Lewis, Fabian Allen and Shamarh Brooks, for playing an “integral part” in pushing the team in “a particular direction”.

Coley told the Jamaica Observer that this support was significant.

“He could count on that unit on the field.

“You want to be able to lean on some of your more experienced players — players who have played internationally, players who are also very familiar with the conditions in which you are playing, and also players who have played against some of these opposition players and who could give some insight in terms of strategy in the moment.

“It was a very open dressing room where, from emerging players to international players, everybody could give an input. Rovman was quite open to feedback from the coaching staff,” the former Jamaica wicketkeeper shared.

After winning three of their first four matches the Tallawahs won only one of their next six outings — one of those was rained out.

In landing the fourth and final play-off spot the Tallawahs were forced into an eliminator against St Lucia Kings, which they won.

A subsequent victory over Guyana Amazon Warriors in Qualifier 2 earned the Jamaica franchise, which won the inaugural CPL in 2013 and another in 2016, a spot in the final.

The assistant coach said the team never wavered from its core plans despite the bumps along the way.

“I think generally we were able to keep the focus, which was to win the tournament. We had a clear plan in terms of how we wanted to go about doing it. Generally, we went through the tournament with those plans though there were times we had to adjust. I have to give credit to the players, the backroom staff, and the management,” he said.

Beyond the obvious gratification in winning the CPL, Coley said his first stint with the Tallawahs was also successful on other levels.

“It’s a very heart-warming feeling to have been a part of the planning process from the beginning and then to be a part of the winning set-up in the end.

“I enjoyed my experience, I enjoyed the challenges we were faced with and I enjoyed playing the role I had, which was really to help with the planning and structure around the training and how we went about things during each game, and to support the head coach and everyone else.

“Given the opportunity, I would do it again if I’m asked to perform in this particular role. Obviously, every year brings its own conversation about where we want to go with the franchise and so on. Where I stand now I’m just enjoying the fact we were able to put our plans in place and it brought us success,” he ended.