ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC- Coach of the Leeward Islands cricket team Ridley Jacobs has appealed for more consistency from captain and opening batsman Kieran Powell as the regional four day tournament heads to a climactic phase.
Jacobs’ appeal follows the Leewards five-wicket victory over bottom-of-the-table Guyana at Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds on Monday.
Powell failed with the bat in both innings, making 17 off 36 deliveries in the Leewards’ first innings before falling for seven in the team’s second innings.
“He has not been what we are looking for at times, not very consistent, and that is what we are looking for from the top and from the captain,” said Jacobs, a former West Indies wicketkeeper.
“But we still have another game left and I guess he can get it right in that game. He needs to be consistent in every aspect, catching, and batting, just everything”.
Leewards have won two and lost three of the five matches played in the tournament and are currently on 40 points in 6th position, above 7th place Guyana.
They play Barbados in the final round of competition at Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua starting tomorrow.
“There is still a lot of work left to do. At least we are winning games, so at least we know how to win. But the thing is that we have to do it consistently and we haven’t been doing that over a number of years,” said Jacobs.
“So we have to keep doing what is right to really turn the corner and I think we are far from turning the corner. We have been training very hard and we have been trying to do the right things and the simple things”.
St Kitts’ Jacques Taylor has been named in the Leewards’ squad ahead of their match against Barbados starting tomorrow, replacing the injured Tonito Willett.