The Tallawahs managed to win by four wickets in the game between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs. After rain and a wet field delayed the start of the game and spiced up the St. Kitts pitch, the spinners discovered sharp turns and bounce even with the new ball.
The Warriors scored 142 runs in their 20 overs of batting first, but they did it at the cost of six wickets. Shepherd scored a rapid 36 runs in 17 balls, and captain Hetmyer scored 39 runs in 45 balls. While bowling for the Tallawahs, Amir collected three wickets.
For the Tallawahs, reaching their goal of 143 runs was no simple task. The Warriors’ three top spin bowlers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir, and Gudakesh Motie, were exerting pressure on them at the time.
Rovman, However, the Tallawahs’ captain, Rovman Powell, played calmly against the spinners, scoring only 8 runs in 24 balls and scoring 36 runs in 14 balls, keeping his team to the target by attacking the fast bowlers hard.
He called that innings one of his best knocks in the CPL. He spoke,
“To be honest, it’s one of my better knocks in the CPL. I always have ambitions to finish games for my team and to do it in that match gave me a pleasing feeling. I stuck through the tough times – [it’s] something I wanted to do – and then you earn the right to dominate at the end. I think I did that well in that game.”
Recently, Powell has become more confident in sweeping and using his feet against spin, which has opened up other options for him.
“When the spin gets on top of us, as big-hitters or as batters, we don’t trust our defense or technique. If we can do that long enough and as I said, he [Robert Samuels] gave me more options in dealing with spin, and those options seem to be working so far.”
Powell credited Malone’s elder brother, Robert Samuels, for instilling in him the confidence to expand his game against spin, which had been his weakness in the past.
“The good thing is Robert Samuels has known me since [since] I was a child. He has been my coach for a very long time now. I realized at the international level that I had a little bit of problem with spin and all these days he sat down with me and gave me better options in playing spin. Just tells me to continue to trust myself and trust my defense because a lot of times that is our downfall.”
He also believes that he will continue to work with him and will get good options.
“When the spin gets on top of us, as big-hitters or as batters, we don’t trust our defense or technique. If we can do that long enough… and as I said, he gave me more options in dealing with spin and those options seem to be working so far. So, hopefully, more conversations with Robert and working with him will provide [even] more options and help me during the course of my career.”
These are still the first matches to be played in the CPL, and he said,
“Yeah, definitely [this is a very competitive season]. When you look at all the teams, the composition of all the teams, they’re evenly matched. It boils down to team performances on the day and that is what cricket is all about. [In the] years gone by in the CPL, we’ve had teams that are so much better than others, so people know the result of the game sometimes before you even play the game. This year provides something different not just for the players but also for the fans. So, it’s pretty good.”
Powell gave glowing praise for seamer Nicholson Gordon, who brought some zip and energy to Talawas’ attack with tight lengths and celebrations. Gordon, 30, made his CPL debut this season and has become an indispensable hero for Talawas after impressing in the 6ixty.
“It [Gordon’s progress] is very good. That is why we sat down as a franchise and decided to get him in. He’s our wicket-taker. sometimes he will go for a little bit of runs, but he’s always one that is going to give you wickets. In T20 cricket, wickets are important. Over the years he has been consistently playing for Jamaica and when he gets his chance for A team cricket, he will do well also. It’s just due reward for the hard work that he has put in and coming to the Tallawahs now all that hard work is bearing fruit for him.”