Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 17/Jun 02:28

Windies captain backs Johnson Charles: ‘Ideal practice’ for Super Eight

West Indies captain Rovman Powell believes their final Group C match of the ICC T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia on June 17 will be "very good practice" ahead of the Super Eight phase of the tournament. Both teams have registered three straight wins to advance to the next round and already know their destiny in the Super Eight. West Indies are in Group II of the Super Eight alongside South AFrica, England and USA. Afghanistan are in Group I with Australia, India and Bangladesh/Netherlands. At a press conference on Sunday, Powell said, "Momentum is a very important word for us. It's important to be playing good cricket and consistent cricket. You want players going into the Super Eight with good performances. You wanna go into the Super Eight winning." On the threat of the opposition, Powell said, "Afghanistan has been playing good T20 cricket. They have a lot of match winners. We have to come with our best game – very good practice going into the Super Eight." Powell said the final 11 has not been chosen as yet but he dismissed calls for wholesale changes to be made for the final group match. "We know how important this game is for players looking forward to playing in the first Super Eight game. It's not us trying to tinker with what we're doing and trying to come up with different plans. It's us sticking to our plans, sticking to our strengths." Powell also backed St Lucian opener Johnson Charles who has been under pressure for his performances despite a knock of 44 off 42 balls against Uganda. Charles has failed to get off the mark against New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and his inability to rotate the strike when boundaries are not flowing remain a concern. On home soil on a wicket which seems favourable for batting compared to other World Cup pitches so far, Powell anticipates a big knock from Charles. "It's been a big opportunity for guys to play World Cup cricket in their home country. We started in Guyana with Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie playing in front their home crowd. "Then we went Trinidad with Akeal Hosein and Nicholas Pooran, now it's time for Johnson Charles to put on a show for his fellow St Lucians." Powell acknowledged Charles's struggles but said the other Windies batsmen have also yet to hit stride. "I think not just him, all of us as batters have had a subtle start to the World Cup. Tomorrow presents an opportunity as batters to get it right. It's also a better opportunity on a better wicket. We're looking out for it. Johnson Charles is a match winner for us." Powell also hailed the left-arm spin duo of Hosein and Motie, noting that they've fulfilled their specific roles so far. The post Windies captain backs Johnson Charles: ‘Ideal practice’ for Super Eight appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.