I've never played in a West Indies team that is ranked No.3: Rovman Powell

The West Indies have won all three of their games so far in the 2024 T20 World Cup and are already through to the Super 8s. They are one of the few teams with two left-arm spinners - Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein - in the XI. While the latter mostly operates in the powerplay, Motie generally bowls in the middle overs.

Hosein has taken seven wickets in three games at an average of 5.85 and an economy of 3.72, while Motie has claimed five wickets @ 11 and an economy of 6.11. West Indies captain Rovman Powell said both of them play different roles and are very handy in these Caribbean wickets.

“I think we start with Akeal Hosain, his strength is predominantly in the powerplay and while he does such good work in the powerplay, right as we come out the powerplay is Gudakesh Motie’s time. It's like Akeal Hosein passing the baton on to Gudakesh Motie and it’s been very good so far. When we sat down as a selection group and picked the World Cup team, we picked both of them knowing the role that they will play on these Caribbean wickets,” said Powell ahead of their last group game against Afghanistan on June 17 (Monday).

Both teams are already through to the next round but Powell wants to end the group stage with a win and keep the winning momentum going. “Momentum is a very important word for us, it's important for us to keep playing good cricket and consistent cricket. After this game the Super 8 is very, very important so you want players going into the Super 8 with good performances, you want to go in the Super 8s as a team winning. 

“That's definitely something that we're taking seriously and not taking anything for granted even though we have qualified for the Super 8s already. It's an opportunity for us to also put on a display for the St. Lucians who will come out tomorrow to watch us play World Cup cricket.”

It will be a home game for Johnson Charles who hasn’t quite set the tournament on fire. The right-handed opener crafted 44 off 42 against Uganda but failed to open his account in the other two games. “I think not just him, but all of us as batters, have a very, very subtle start to the World Cup, but tomorrow presents an opportunity here at the Daren Sammy Stadium for us as batters to get it right - it's also a better opportunity on a better wicket. 

We know that Johnson is definitely a match winner for us, so we'll see how best as possible we go tomorrow. It's just a case of us telling him to be Johnson Charles, be his natural self. If he's an aggressive player, we expect him to play aggressive. But with that aggression, we know at some point he will fail and at some point, he will come good. It's for us now to support him, it's for us now to give him that additional backing that he needs.”

The surfaces in this World Cup have been tough for scoring but in the two games that have been played in St Lucia, we have witnessed three 180-plus totals across four innings. “When we look at the schedule, all the batters were excited to come to St. Lucia. 

“St. Lucia have been a place where batters like to bat. But it's also an opportunity for bowlers to bowl good spells here, especially the fast bowlers. We think that St. Lucia offers 60-40 in terms of, from a batting perspective, to bowl. And so, if you are a bowler, or if you are a batter, you definitely can get something out of the St. Lucia wicket.”

Lastly, talking about the pressure of playing a World Cup at home, Powell said: “I think pressure is always there, especially when you're at home, especially when you're playing a World Cup at home. Pressure is always there, but it's for us as individuals to manage that pressure. And I think for me as captain, when I started this journey 12 or 14 months ago, when I took over as captain, we were at eight or nine in the rankings. 

“To see us at number three now in the world is a pleasing feeling. And it shows that not just myself, but the players are coming together and we're doing something right. I've never played in a West Indies team that is ranked number three in the world. So that for me is something special and hopefully, just hopefully, we can continue to climb those rankings.”

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