West Indies taking it one game at a time, says Powell

CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC):

WEST INDIES T20 skipper Rovman Powell has suggested that a win for the home side in today’s third T20I against England will set up a thrilling finish to the series, which concludes over the weekend.

Trailing the best-of-five series 0-2, the West Indies need to win at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground if they are to have any chance of winning the series and avoiding their first T20 home series loss since 2023.

Speaking to members of the media ahead of today’s match, Powell said every game of the series was now like a final to the West Indies.

“It’s a case of us getting back into the series. We just need a win, and once we get a win tomorrow [Thursday], it sets up for a very exciting weekend.

“The guys are upbeat [about] our chances of playing good cricket against England even though we are 2-0 down. Having said that, the guys are in a good space, good frame of mind,” Powell said.

However, Powell admitted that being down 0-2 in a T20 series was not a position they were accustomed to.

“It’s a little uncomfortable, to be honest. It’s a position where we haven’t found ourselves in a long time, but it’s an opportunity for us to show what we’re made of as a T20 team,” Powell said.

“England is a team that we play quite often, and we have some good results against them. It’s just unfortunate that Barbados wasn’t good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia gives us a new day to come out and play some good cricket.”

Powell said following two heavy losses at Kensington Oval, a new venue in St Lucia afforded them a chance to regroup.

He said it was also important for some players in the team to do some retrospection.

“I think it is a case of guys having to look at it from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals bring enough to the table and then we try our best to try and put it together as a team.

“We have areas that we definitely need to work on, so the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so, hopefully, come Thursday, we can hit the ground running,” Powell said.

The captain also welcomed the return of Alzarri Joseph, who missed the opening two T20Is after serving a two-game suspension.

“If you look at our bowling department, we really needed him. It’s important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running,” Powell said.