The Scorpions won their first regional ODI title in 11 years after defeating the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the CG Super 50 final last Saturday.
Powell led his team’s batting with 346 runs at an average of 69 with a century – a superb unbeaten 105 in the semi-final that led them to a tournament-high 318 to beat the Harpy Eagles. Coach Richardson said about Powell.
“[He’s] awesomeness, [he’s] awesomeness. Rovy (Powell), the way he operates you can tell he wants to take his game to the next level. The way he marshalls the troops on the field was awesome to see.
“Every time he batted, he batted with a purpose. I certainly know – especially [in the final] – he wanted to be there at the end but unfortunately, it didn’t go according to plan.”
“He is one of the cricketers that I can tell you has personally invested in his game and his improvement, and this is just fruits of his labor.”
Powell, who made his international debut six years ago, has played in 45 ODIs and 55 T20Is. He was one of the few players with international experience in the successful Scorpions team, alongside current Windies stars Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Odean Smith, Chadwick Walton and Andre McCarthy, as Powell led the Scorpions.
And Andrew Richardson believes the Scorpions are “built to win” despite an early setback in the series against minnows West Indies Academy – when they lost two of their first three matches.
“We had some colorful words to get the guys motivated again [following that defeat]. Andrew Richardson said. From the inception, we said that this team was built to win. This team has got a lot of experience and I thank the selectors for backing us to go with the experienced players.”
“We had some bumps in the road. We didn’t start out the competition chasing well so we had to revisit our plans and then we started batting first, the batters started getting confidence and I always believe in this competition – and in regional cricket – the team that bats consistently well will do well.”
Richardson, who has played most of his 68 first-class matches for his native Jamaica, also praised the Scorpions bowling attack.
“It was good to see guys like Bulli putting their hands up. Nicholson Gordon has been getting wickets right through in all formats and it was good to see a collective bowling unit backed up by some sensible batting, especially the game in the semi-finals.”
“That was a big one for us, that one gave us the real confidence boost that we needed.”
“We haven’t won a regional trophy in quite a little while. This is a very good feeling.”