Jamaica Scorpions captain Rovman Powell believes his unbeaten 105 against the Guyana Harpy Eagles on Thursday night was one of the best he has played in his career.
Powell hit seven fours and three sixes in a mature knock that took the Scorpions to 322-7 in pursuit of the Harpy Eagles’ 318-9. It was the most successful chase of the season and the best result by any team in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition.
He shared a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with Alwyn Williams who made 45 and then stands of 34 and 37 with Dennis Bulli (17) and Odean Smith (19) respectively before an unbroken 37-wicket partnership the eight with Jeavor. Royal, who was on 18 in the over after hitting a match-winning six off Nail Smith.
In his post-match comments following his first List Century of the season and fourth in total, the 29-year-old all-rounder was very appreciative of his match-winning knock.
“I think it’s one of my best 100s,” said Powell, who finished with Jamaica 101-3 after dismissing Brandon King for a well-played 64.
“I have a very good start. It was a very good wicket to be honest and so I just went through the pace and stayed on the wicket we were going to win.”
He praised King for his half-century, his second of the season, that set up victory for the Scorpions side that will face star-studded defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in Saturday’s final.
“It was very important,” he said of King’s 64. “It was important for someone to get us off to a flying start and I think Brandon did that. It was just a shame he couldn’t go on a little bit longer.
“We were looking to get to 100 in 15 or so overs for the middle order to settle down and push the ball and I think Brandon’s innings really set that up well.”
Wary of the quality of their opponents in Saturday’s final, Powell said it was essential for the Scorpions to improve in all three areas – batting, bowling and fielding – if they were to have any chance of dethroning the Trinidadian unit.
“Trinidad have been playing the best 50-over cricket in the Caribbean for a while now, so it’s important for us to play very good cricket and improve our batting, bowling and campaigning,” he said, possibly referring to the King who dropped Shimron Hetmyer in his early days. The West Indies middle-order batsman top-scored for the Harpy Eagles with 86.
“Today (Thursday) we threw a few catches. In the final, we can’t get rid of Trinidad’s big players like that.”
