BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Kieran Powell and Sheno Berridge said Leeward Islands Hurricanes have taken great confidence from their opening wins in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup and will be seeking further improvements to keep the results going their way.
Powell and Berridge were two of the architects of the Hurricanes’ second win by 70 runs over Canada in the Super50 Cup on Friday at Warner Park.
Left-handed opener Powell cracked 58 from 73 balls to give the Hurricanes innings a solid base before an explosive 92 from the same number of balls from India-bound Rahkeem Cornwall propelled them to 257 in 49.1 overs.
Pacer Berridge followed up with 4-35 from his allotted 10 overs to be the pick of the Hurricanes bowlers, breaking the back of the the Canadians’ batting before they were bowled out for 187 in 42.4 overs to give the hosts their second successive victory to keep them firmly entrenched at the top of the Group “A” table.
Powell and Berridge spoke to CWI Media following the game and said they hope to continue their good performances to place the Hurricanes in a strong position in the tournament. . .
KIERAN POWELL
On his half-century in the game:
I think it was similar to the first game. Got a good start, but gave my wicket away, again. But I think the start the team had and the position in which we were, we needed me to go a bit deeper in the innings. Thankfully, Rahkeem (Cornwall) and Jeremiah (Louis) stood up to the back end and we got a good total to win the game still.
On how much confidence his innings brings:
I think I have been building up nicely in the first two games. I haven’t played much for the last six months or so. My second innings back at this level, I think I am building up nicely, so it’s just to continue progressing throughout the group stage and try to get deeper and deeper into my innings, as the tournament goes on.
On the innings from Cornwall:
We know he is capable of these types of innings. He has four List “A” hundreds, and unfortunately, he missed out here. In List “A” games, he is not just a good bowler as everyone knows him to be, but he is actually a genuine batsman for the team. He is actually batting a bit lower than where he would probably like to be batting, but it’s what the team requires, and we know he is capable of these kinds of innings and we expect this from him in the Super50 Cup.
On advice for Cornwall who is heading to be part of West Indies Test squad against Afghanistan in India:
Just be himself. When you play on the international stage, lots of people try to change you or do things differently, but he needs to stick to what got him there. He seems to be in good bowling form, mixing his variations well and he would have taken some confidence in his batting from an innings like this, and going to play against Afghanistan which will predominantly spin-based attack, he should be a big factor in the games when he gets to India. I wish him all the best in India, as well as all the other players.
On Hurricanes winning their first two games:
In tournaments like this, as a team, you want to continue to build. In our lead-up to this Super50 Cup, the Leeward Islands Cricket Board tournament was heavily rain-affected, and our preparations, as a team, coming into this tournament was badly affected, so we did not have much match play. I think these first two games, it was important that we got wins, but it was also important that we got time in the middle to build up. I think if we can continue to improve on each facet of the game and to take positives from each game that will be good for the team going into the rest of the tournament.
On areas for improvement after two games:
Overall, I think there are areas in which we can improve in our batting, bowling and fielding. We had a bit of a mini collapse in this game, so that’s something of which we must be mindful, but there was a good recovery job. The start that we need, we need to get them and convert them into winning totals. And, the bowlers need to maintain the pressure through the middle overs and not relax after we have got rid of the top order. Those are the things we will discuss internally and look to come back stronger.
SHENO BERRIDGE
On taking seven wickets in the first two games:
Quite happy with the returns from the first two games. I think after the hard work I have been putting into my training, I have seen the results in the first two games. I could not have asked for a better start and I just need to continue.
On what brought him success in this game:
I watched how the Canadians bowled up front and I stuck to my plan from the first game and executed.
On what his early success has done for his confidence:
I am always confident, but I just have to keep myself working hard, stay positive and do the basics.
On pitch conditions:
It was not really conducive to my type of bowling. It required me just sticking to the basics and doing them repeatedly and being patient knowing the success will eventually come. Being a Kittitian, I know the Warner Park pitch pretty well and I have been doing some sessions here, so I have a pretty good idea where I have to be pitching the deliveries and the variations to use.
On Hurricanes winning their first two games:
The two wins have given us more confidence. We all are hungry for success. We are looking forward to our next match on Sunday (against Jamaica Scorpions), so hopefully we can come and execute again on that day, as we have done in the first two games and we can end up with another victory in our third game.
Source: CWI Media
