"They are a very good team": WI skipper Powell hails England ahead of upcoming fixture
Jun 18, 2024
Gros Islet [St Lucia], June 18 : Ahead of his side's clash against England in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight round, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell hailed the Three Lions and said that they have a good team.
West Indies are coming into this match after sealing a massive 104-run win over Afghanistan at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Powell said that the conditions are pretty good and it's nice for bowling at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.
"I think the conditions are pretty good. It's good for batting, it's good for bowling, it makes for very good cricket. , when you look on the English team, they are defending champions. And, they are a very good team. And so, it's for us now to just sit and find some plans and see how those plans can work against them," Powell said.
When asked about the relationship between him and the head coach Daren Sammy, the Caribbean skipper said that they are on the same page.
"I think we have a very good relationship, whenever the captain and coach are in sync, he normally gets success, the problems come when the captain is on a totally different page as the coach. And for the last 12 months or so when I took over as captain there and I've been very encouraging you have been very good very helpful for me and a part of my success a part of the team successes is have to go to Sammy, I think he has been good so far," he added.
In the Super Eights, West Indies have been placed with England, South Africa, USA in the Group 2.
Recapping West Indies' previous match against Afghanistan, after winning the toss Afghanistan sent West Indies to bat first. Nicholas Pooran (98 runs from 53 balls, 6 fours and 8 sixes) and Johnson Charles (43 runs from 27 balls, 8 fours) helped the Caribbeans to post 218/5 on the scoreboard in the first inning. Shai Hope (25 runs from 17 balls, 2 sixes) and Rovman Powell (26 runs from 15 balls, 1 four and 2 sixes) also played a supporting role in the first inning.
Gulbadin Naib led the Afghan bowling attack after he bagged two wickets and gave 14 runs in his two-over spell.
During the run chase, Ibrahim Zadran (38 runs from 28 balls, 5 fours and 1 six) and Azmatullah Omarzai (23 runs from 19 balls, 1 four and 1 six) were the only standout batters for Afghanistan as they scored the highest runs among their teammates. However, it was not enough to help Afghanistan chase the given ru rate.
Obed McCoy led the Caribbean bowling attack after he bagged three wickets and gave 14 runs in his three-over spell. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie also picked up two wickets in their respective spells and helped West Indies clinch a 104-run win over Afghanistan.