“An opportunity came about after a few discrepancies with the West Indies Cricket Board. I decided to take some time off from cricket and some footage of me playing cricket was seen by the LA Dodgers,” Powell said.

“I’ve had some training out here in the US for a few months.”

Powell was one of the brightest sparks in West Indies cricket before he bizarrely walked away from the game a year-and-a-half ago.

He played in the first match of the three-Test series against touring New Zealand last year June, but subsequently bowed out of action and never returned.

The Nevisian has also not played for Leeward Islands Hurricanes in any format of the West Indies domestic championship.

Powell, who has played 21 Tests and 28 One-Day Internationals, said he was looking forward to his new career.

“(Baseball is) really fun, it’s an interesting game, I’ve loved every minute of it so far, and I hope to continue doing it for the rest of my career,” he said.

“It’s a unique opportunity, it’s a once in a lifetime thing. This is what dreams are made of, as I said earlier. I’m just so excited about it, like everyone’s so excited about it.”

While Powell has a modest average of 27 in Tests, he was good enough to score a hundred in both innings of a Test against Bangladesh three years ago.