BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Leeward Islands Hurricanes returned to winning ways when they trounced a hapless Kent Spitfires team by 108 runs yesterday (Feb. 4) at the Coolidge Ground in Antigua.
Batting first on a slow track, Hurricanes Captain Kieran Powell continued with his rich vein of form, when he blasted his third century in the tournament, helping his side to post a competitive 275 for 9 of 50 Overs.
In reply, the team from the English County could only muster a paltry 170 all-out inside 40 Overs, as the spinners played a key role in restricting the opposition.
Blasting five 4s and four 6s, Powell took full advantage of the early conditions - which suited batting - to push his team to the top of Group A - with one foot into the semi-finals.
Kent - expected to be one of the more formidable sides in the tournament - had no answer for the Leeward Islands’ bowlers as they struggled to get going.
A rain interruption did not assist the Spitfires, as they quickly folded for 170, with Alex Blake being the only batsman to put up resistance. He beat out 44 runs before being dismissed by Alzarri Joseph.
Joseph was the pick of the bowlers grabbing 3 for 62, while Akeal Hosein and Jason Campbell picked up two wickets each.
Speaking with Windies media after the game, Powell noted that although he is the one who is scoring the bulk of the runs at the moment, the Hurricanes are looking to have an all-round team performance.
With his consistency, Powell is now looking to score more runs and bat deeper into the innings.
“...You know I got two centuries and two of them are just 105 and 108. We have had talks in the team meetings that when you get in, you need to kick on and obviously, I got out with something like 14 Overs left. And I think I missed the chance of getting 150-plus,” Powell explained.
Expressing satisfaction at his team’s overall performance during the victory, he named several players who showed composure in both the batting and bowling departments, including Alzarri Joseph and Rahkeem Cornwall and Gavin Tonge.
With them eyeing a spot in the semifinals, Powell is not looking for his team to be complacent.
“We are close to qualification, but we need to go and play each game on the day - and can’t just think that we are ahead and be complacent and lose games because of that. We need to go out and play hard, play consistent cricket and keep playing team cricket, and that is what is going to get us to the semifinals.”
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes would now lock horns with the West Indies Under-19 team in a day game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium tomorrow (Feb. 6).
