Jamaica Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell has revealed that the team drew motivation from what they regarded as an overall lack of respect for their ability.
Not many would have had the Tallawahs as favourites to claim the Caribbean Premier League title, particularly after a mid-tournament slump that saw them win just two of seven games. On Friday, the Jamaica-based franchise proved their doubters wrong, however, after securing an 8-wicket win over the Barbados Royals.
The Royals, on the other hand, were the team of the tournament after winning 8 of 10 matches before automatically advancing to the final. According to Powell, proving critics wrong was one of the team’s major motivations.
"Adjectives cannot describe how I feel right now. We endured a lot of disrespect throughout the tournament so to be here now is amazing. We used the disrespect that we endured as motivation. We were hungry,” Powell said, following the match.
“The guys were very hungry. I told them to hang in and that we have a lot of batters and we can get it. The first 100 that Brandon scored, it was in a losing cause and so the guys felt really hurt that it was in a losing cause but we told the guys that's what big boy cricket is about,” he added.
"So, to see Brooks score a 100 the other night in a win was special. I've captained a few teams and franchises before I captained Jamaica so I've been learning. Sometimes I feel down and out because I'm human, but my family rallied around me. I wanna say a special thanks to the Guyanese supporters.”