Powell wants more from top order

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

WEST INDIES T20 skipper Rovman Powell says his specialist batters need to deliver the goods if the home side is to have a realistic chance of winning the series against archrivals England.

The West Indies suffered a humiliating eight-wicket loss in the opening T20I on Saturday at Kensington Oval and were then trounced by seven wickets on Sunday as England took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

With the three remaining matches slated to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia starting Thursday, Powell maintained that the West Indies could not continue to depend on their lower order if they were to post challenging totals.

In the first T20, the Windies found themselves struggling at 18 for three inside four overs, while, in the second match, they slipped to 35 for three at the end of four.

On both occasions, they were rescued by their lower order batters in posting scores of 189 for nine and 158 for eight, respectively.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s defeat, Powell said the luck of the toss and the lack of contributions at the top of the order had led to their demise.

“To be honest, I think the toss is a big factor, in the first six overs when batting offers something for the bowlers.

“I think, if it was reversed, England would be in the same position. We saw how heavily dependent the toss was in Barbados,” Powell said.

“But, having said that, we have to do better as a batting group. We can’t keep finding ourselves three down after the power play.”

Powell said St Lucia provided a clean slate for the team to prove its worth.

And, despite their disappointing performances with the bat so far, he contended that he had not lost faith in his troops

“We have to be fearless and play the brand of cricket that has got us here. We have been playing some good T20 cricket for the past 18 months, so why change now?” Powell questioned.

“St Lucia provides an opportunity for our batters, that I think are still in good nick, to put some scores on the board. But it is important for the top five to bat the majority of the overs.

“It is a case where our lower order has had to do the bulk of the batting and, if your lower order is always doing the bulk of the batting, you will always find yourselves in trouble.

“We still believe in the quality of the guys that we put out on the park. Our T20 team is a pretty settled team and it’s just for us to get it right on the park,” the captain added.