Home is where the heart is!
JAMAICA Tallawahs’ success in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title this year is unique compared to the previous victories in 2013 and 2016 because not a single game in that run was played in front of the team’s home fans.
While the franchise’s executive body describes this win as “ecstatic”, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller is eager for a return to playing games on the island.
In previous years Tallawahs’ ownership lamented the costs associated with staging its games at Sabina Park, especially amid declining attendance numbers. As such, it experimented with games in Lauderhill, Florida, with a view to making it its permanent home.
Not only did the Tallawahs results not improve there but neither did home support, as many spectators comprising the greater West Indian Diaspora, rarely getting a chance to see live cricket, turned out for visiting teams as much as they did for the Tallawahs.
Miller says that they have learned from this and as long as the CPL advisors return the league to a home-and away-format like it was prior to thenovel coronavirus pandemic, all home matches will return to Jamaica.
“We made a decision in 2018 and we played some games in Florida,” Miller told the Jamaica Observer. “It didn’t turn out the way that we were hoping and we have decided that Jamaica will play their home games in Jamaica if the opportunity arises. If CPL and the Government give us the green light, that’s where we would be.”
Miller is not the only one hoping for the team to return to Sabina Park though. His sentiments are shared by Assistant Coach Andre Coley and a number of players.
“That would be massive, 100 per cent,” Coley told the Observer. “When you look at what the fan base is saying, what Jamaicans are saying, they really want cricket at home. And I think the players are saying that too. If you look at the make-up of our team, a lot of our players would benefit from playing at home, and a lot of them want to play in front of their home crowd and home fans and to express themselves.
“Watching on TV and seeing bits and pieces in the media, it is completely different from being in the stands and seeing how well the boys played, and to experience that energy and passion from them on the field. I’m hoping that next year the Tallawahs will be able to play at home.”
Miller says a return home would be dependent on CPL organisers, financial support from the Government, and corporate sponsorship.
“It is twofold,” he said. “Not playing in Jamaica, the players were disappointed about that, but COVID meant we played in Trinidad in 2020, then we played in St Kitts in 2021. This year we broke out to four venues [in St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana] and CPL came up with a plan to bring value to the respective territories where the games are played.
“If you want to host games, then you’ve got to provide some kind of support to the franchise and to CPL. We hope that that support will come from the Government or corporate Jamaica in 2023 and beyond.”
Miller says, though, that not playing at home also had a positive impact on the composition of the team.
“It wasn’t easier [without having to finance home matches] because you still had to have a team,” he said. “Your team is based on what you’re looking for as the composition of the team, and not based on the country. We were playing in Trinidad and Guyana and we tried to look for the players that we thought would excel — Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Green — players who would play a vital role. You can see they did play a vital role. The selection of players was based on the venues that we were playing at,” he stated.
“We don’t know what CPL is gonna do for 2023 but when they make that decision we will look at the players that we have. The good thing with the players is that the new cycle of contracts started this year so we are in a good position with the current squad that we have,” Miller added.
The Tallawahs defeated the Barbados Royals by eight wickets in the final in Providence, Guyana, on September 30