Jamaican Powell lives out dream, becomes Windies T20 top run scorer

On March 26, 2017, a 23-year-old Rovman Powell scored just five runs on his Twenty20 (T20) debut for the West Indies in a defeat to Pakistan. Almost a decade later, the Jamaican has etched his name into the record books, becoming the West Indies’ all-time leading run scorer in the shortest format.

Although the Windies went down by 37 runs in their second T20 against Sri Lanka at Sabina Park on Saturday, the night will be remembered for Powell’s milestone as he moved to 2,314 career T20 International runs.

His 26-ball knock of 43, which included five fours and two sixes, saw him move past former wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran’s tally of 2,275 runs. Powell also became the first West Indian to surpass the 2,300-run mark and now sits 38th on the all-time T20I run-scoring list, with only seven active players having scored more.

“It feels good; it’s a boyhood dream to play for West Indies,” Powell said.

“I never knew I would play for West Indies for the last 10 years or so; it’s definitely something that I’ve dreamt about. To be able to score the most runs for West Indies at this point is a very good feeling.”

It was also special for Powell, given it was done on home soil.

“I really believe Jamaicans love cricket, and it’s nice to see them coming out and rallying around us.”

Fellow Jamaican and two-time T20 World Cup winner Andre Russell and current white-ball captain Shai Hope were among those who congratulated former Windies Captain Powell on his achievement.

The former Old Harbour High and University of the West Indies star is among the most accomplished Jamaicans in the format. Batting legend Chris Gayle scored 1,899 runs over his 15-year career, double World Cup winner Marlon Samuels registered 1,611 runs in 65 innings, and Russell retired last summer with 1,122 runs.

Among current West Indies players, Jamaican opener Brandon King sits closest to Powell’s mark. The right-hander reached a milestone of his own on Thursday, becoming only the third West Indian to cross the 2,000-run mark in T20 and is now 302 runs shy of Powell’s tally.

Despite the series ending on Sunday, Jamaican supporters won’t have to wait too long to see more of Powell’s exploits as he will captain the Jamaica Kingsmen in this summer’s Caribbean Premier League, with four matches at Sabina Park from August 11 to 18.

The Windies, meanwhile, will turn their attention to the two-match Test series against the Sri Lankans, which bowls off on June 25 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.