Ricardo Powell, the former West Indies batsman, was among those who attended

Ricardo Powell, the former West Indies batsman, was among those who attended yesterday’s Under 19 World Cup qualifier at Somerset Cricket Club.

Powell, who represented the West Indies at Test and One Day International levels between 1999 and 2005, has traveled here to run the rule over two United States players who he coaches in Houston.

“I have two kids on the current team that I coach, Sahil Patel and Karan Patel,” said Powell. “Those are two of the players that I work with and I just came along to watch them and see what their development and growth has been like.”

Powell’s players were among the United States’ wicket-takers, claiming three wickets between them with their off break spin.

Karan shared the new ball with Keifer Phill, the United States seamer, and had a say in Bermuda’s early order slide that set the tone for the rest of the innings.

“As much as we play a lot of cricket now in America, we still don’t have a lot of turf wickets to play on, so the exposure is always good and different,” Powell said.

Powell’s visit to Bermuda is his first since travelling here in 2004 with Gus Logie’s West Indies team - led by skipper Brian Lara - to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy in England, the year in which they won the competition.

“The preparation here going off to the ICC Champions Trophy was something that we totally enjoyed, and I think the outcome showed that we had some good preparation going into that,” said Powell, who is also an ESPN cricket analyst.

“I remember playing right here [Somerset Cricket Club] vividly. Even the colour of the building was the same, so that brings back some memories. Bermuda is a beautiful island and it is good to be here.”
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