We just have to believe - Powell

Jamaica Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell says the team will have a clean slate when they take on the Trinbago Knight riders in tomorrow’s semi-final of the Caribbean Premier League.

Powell and his Tallawahs suffered a demoralising 11-run loss to the St Lucia Zouks in their final preliminary-round game of the tournament on Sunday. The Tallawahs were cruising at 84 without loss in the 12th over chasing 146 for victory.

However, the Jamaican franchise lost nine wickets for 50 runs to fall short in their chase.

Despite the disappointing performance with the bat once again, Powell is hoping that the players can dig deep and find the resolve needed for the big semi-final clash against the unbeaten Knight riders on Tuesday.

“It’s a case now where we have to believe. We just have to draw strength from wherever we can draw strength. It’s now semi-final time and you enter the semi-final with a clean slate. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to forget what happened before but we have to find a way to do that,” said Powell.

The first-time captain was, however, pleased with the new opening pair of Glenn Phillips and Jermaine Blackwood, who continues to show good promise at the top of the order.

“I think the two games that they batted together and opening, they did a fairly good job. It’s for us in the middle order to try our best to find some way to get some runs,” added Powell.

The Tallawahs batting unit has been relying heavily on the bats of wicket-keeper Phillips and Andre Russell, who had one of his rare failures on Sunday when he made nought.

Phillips is currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament, as his 49 on Sunday has pushed him up to the top of the run-scoring charts with 314 runs.

Apart from Phillips, Russell and Blackwood, no other batsman in the squad has passed 50 runs this season, and Powell acknowledged that his form should be placed under the microscope.

Powell has scored just 73 runs in nine innings at a paltry average of 9.40 and the right-hander is hoping for some divine intervention come Tuesday.

“It’s just not happening and sometimes there is very little you can do. It’s just the belief and I hope I do get some runs in the semi-finals,” added Powell.